On the advice of his companion Bluteck, the cruel knight Barbe-Bleue (Blaubart) decides to remarry for the seventh time and kidnaps Bertha, the eldest daughter of the rich Geldsack. The next day, Barbe-Bleue leaves the castle and gives Bertha all the keys, including the one to the secret cabinet, which he nevertheless forbids her to enter. But Bertha disobeys him and discovers the decapitated bodies of his previous wives. To punish her for her curiosity, Barbe-Bleue sentences her to death. She is saved by her former suitor Hugo von Hohenfels, who, with the help of the servant Kasperl, enters the castle and kills Barbe-Bleue.

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Printed

Cruelty

Bear

Hunting

Wedding

Romanticism

Knighthood

Young girl

Deafness

Curiosity

Kidnapping

Women's condition

Murder

Dramatic

Comical

Parodistic

German

Barbe-Bleue

Kasperl

Knight

Ecuyer

Monologue

Song

Disguise

Dance

Word for another

Dialogue of the deaf

Parody of formal language

Apparition of the Devil

Blaubart

Bluebeard

Guignol embarks on a hot-air balloon set for the Moon, in order to escape poverty and make his fiancée’s dreams come true. The balloon takes him first to the Mer de Glace (a glacier in France), then close to the Sun, and finally to the Moon. Guignol is captured by the guards. But when he meets the king of the Moon, he succeeds in convincing him that it would be more profitable for him to keep him as an ally, since he could establish trades between the Moon and the Earth. Guignol also shows the king the power of firearms, which are manufactured on Earth. Firearms being a lot more effective than the low-tech weapons of the Moon, Guignol promises the king that they will help him subdue an enemy neighbour. He is then appointed general. Gnafron and Madelon eventually travel to the Moon too, and the play ends with a feast.

Glove-puppet

All audiences

France

Lyon

Manuscript

Excessive drinking

Cosmic journey

Money

Gas balloon

Parachute

Communication

Trade

Army

Fantasy

First page of the handwritten manuscript of Guignol dans la Lune