L'Arlésienne (play)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

L'Arlésienne was a novel, written by Alphonse Daudet and first published in his Lettres de mon moulin[1], in 1869. In 1872, the author transformed the novel into a three-act play. Bizet wrote incidental music for the play's first production - a score that played an entire hour, in fact, and later inspired suites of the same name, the first established by Georges Bizet himself, the second after Bizet's death, by Ernest Guiraud.

[edit] Plot

The play is set in Provence, France. L’Arlésienne, which translates to "the lady from Arles", is loved by two peasants: Fréderi and his brother, who is unnamed and is referred to as L’Innocent, or "The innocent". Fréderi commits suicide by jumping off a balcony, while the townsmen are dancing a farandole.

[edit] Trivia

Because the title character is never shown in the play, Arlésienne is now used, in French, to describe a person that is prominently (and sometimes voluntarily) absent from a place or a situation where that person would be expected to show up.