Conrad, Mattéo, and Stella are in the catacombs. Conrad insists that Mattéo, the servant who accompanied them, leave. Once alone, Conrad forces Stella to swear that she loves him. She trembles in fear, and he thinks that it is proof of a lie; his suspicion comes from a letter he discovered, written by Stella for a certain Strozzi but that she never sent. In a fit of jealousy, he abandons her after cutting the thread that showed them the way out of the catacombs. Stella tries to find the exit, but she collapses in the darkness. A silhouette appears. Four years later, in an inn, Conrad encounters a stranger who seems to recognise him. The stranger introduces himself as Cagliostro, a friend who came to rescue him. He promises to see Conrad again on the day of his wedding with Mathilde de Sarnen, with whom he is in love. Before he leaves, Cagliostro gives Conrad a hammer, a mask, and a rose, and gives him a place and time. At the convent of Aarau, Mathilde de Sarnen asks the abbess Marie de Rudenz for permission to go and see her fiancé. When she discovers the name of the man Mathilde loves, Marie is incredibly furious and forbids their union. Conrad, wearing a mask, slips inside the convent and when he sees Marie, he recognises… Stella. She tries to clarify the letter that caused his jealousy, but Conrad says that he came here for his fiancée, Mathilde. Enraged, Marie threatens to kill Mathilde if he tries to leave with her. She assures him that everything obeys her in the convent, and proves her power. To stop her from ordering him, Conrad fatally hits her throat. The wedding between Mathilde de Sarnen and Conrad de Caldorf is to take place soon. However, Mathilde is suspicious of her fiancé and keeps her distance: she thinks that he murdered Marie. Cagliostro promises Conrad that he will fix everything. He pretends that Marie’s murderer has been caught. Mathilde is now reassured and feels more peaceful. Later, Marie’s ghost appears in front of Conrad. Terrified, he screams, which alerts the guests. Amongst them is the count Henri, who bursts out laughing because of Conrad’s fear. Furious, Conrad challenges him to a duel. Before the duel, the Nonne Sanglante (Bloody Nun)–Marie’s ghost–kills Henri and promises Conrad to find him on his wedding night. During the wedding night, Conrad sees the Nonne Sanglante sitting on the bed next to Mathilde. Frightened, he tries to kill Marie, but blinded by his fear, he fatally hits his wife. The Nonne offers him to run away after setting the building on fire to hide Mathilde’s murder. Conrad pretends to agree, but he locks up the Nonne in the burning building.

String marionette

All audiences

France

Printed

Darkness

Love

Jealousy

Death

Supernatural

Masque

Convent

Revenge

Ball

Phantom

Duel

Conflagration

Melodramatic

Dramatic

Fantastic

French

Lover

Ghost

Count

Cagliostro

Domestic servant

Servant

Innkeeper

Maid

Guests

Failed suicide

Off-stage noise

Music

Avista

Death on stage

Apparition of a ghost

Song

Off-stage voice

Murder on stage

Fire

La Nonne sanglante

The Bloody Nun

The King learns, thanks to an anonymous letter, that Kasimir, his daughter Pumfia’s fiancé, is none other than the terrible bandit Jaromir. When Jaromir appears and confirms to Pumfia that the news is true, the King challenges him to a duel. But Jaromir, victorious, cuts off the King’s head. Pumfia wants to retire to a convent. Jaromir offers to console her and they run away together: love conquers all.

Glove-puppet

Josefine (?)

Czechia

Všeruby

Treason

Gangster

Abduction

Decapitation

Seduction

Burlesque

German

Ein altes Puppenspiel

Slave

Robber

Letter

Bawdy equivocation

Fight

Splitting of the body

Beheading

Der Sieg der Liebe

The Triumph of Love

Jeannot, a child who has a third eye, is adopted by Clémence and Prudent. They take Jeannot to see a doctor who wants to perform surgery on him. Jeannot rebels and a temporary solution is found: his third eye will be blindfolded so that the child can get used to having two eyes and prepare for the future. For a week, Jeannot lives with his eye covered but becomes sick with melancholy. Clémence decides that he will go to school without covering his eye. On the first day, the other children are either surprised or scared, then they are impressed by Jeannot’s “supersonic” eye. Soon enough, they no longer pay attention to that eye, but they pay attention, rather, to what it makes him see. Jeannot contradicts the schoolteacher regarding Romeo and Juliet, and he is chased out of the classroom. Mariette, a classmate, tells him that she shares his point of view. The head of school tells Clémence and Prudent that their son has been expelled for a week. Mariette pays a visit to Jeannot who is stuck in the house, and she reveals to him that she also has a third eye. They dance together until they are interrupted by the arrival of Mariette’s parents. When Jeannot goes back to school, a student mocks him. Mariette defends Jeannot by showing her third eye to everybody in the classroom, which terrifies the schoolteacher, who thinks there is an epidemic. Some parents take legal action and sue for voluntarily contaminating other children. The judge, who is understanding, thinks that Jeannot can see the colour of the human soul thanks to his third eye. Jeannot asks to become an emancipated minor in order to leave on his own, without his parents. His request having been accepted, Jeannot leaves, although it is difficult to accept for Clémence and Mariette. The narrator reveals herself to be Mariette, who has grown old: it is the day of her birthday and she wishes to see Jeannot again more than anything.