In the prologue, Talia (Thalia) and Urania announce an inspiring story. Baldassara, a successful actress admired by Alvaro and Rodrigo, is tormented: as she performs the role of Clorinda in the company of Beatrice, Lisa, and Biscotto in a theatrical adaptation of La Gerusalemme Liberata by Torquato Tasso, she is so disturbed that she misses her cue. Baldassara understands that her torment comes from the fact that, while she plays the role of a young Christian, she has turned a deaf ear to the calls of God. Right in the middle of the performance, she leaves to exile herself in the desert, pursued by Biscotto and Lisa, who attempt to deter her from her goal. Beatrice, however, has only contempt for her rival; the other actors apologize to the public, who seem enthusiastic at the performance of who they call the "Comica del Cielo" (the Actress from the Heavens). During her exile, Baldassara discovers the beauty in solitude, while Lisa and Biscotto see only horror. She refuses their pleas to return to Valenza. The Demon, disguised as a hunter, tempts Alvaro, who has left in search of his lover: the young man finds Baldassara, who implores him to devote his life to God. In despair, he leaves to throw himself from a cliff. Baldassara tries to stop him, but a boulder in the form of a cross intervenes. Baldassara kneels before the power of the Divine. Biscotto, in hermit's robes, decides to stay at her side despite objections from Lisa. During her slumber, the Demon sends Baldassara temptations: upon her wake, she repels him with a Christian symbol, which breaks the spell. Biscotto, however, regardless of Lisa's warnings, tastes a cake from the Demon: the bitterness in his mouth remains, but he succeeds in chasing the Demon away. Act II ends with a ballet. Beatrice arrives in the desert after the death of Tafer, who she followed across the oceans and who was defeated by Rodrigo. In a nocturnal scene, Baldassara and Biscotto discover Beatrice and successfully dissuade her from killing herself. Rodrigo, arriving mid-reunion, wants to kill Beatrice to avenge her infidelity. Baldassara interjects and commands him to turn toward God. After these multiple conversions Penitenza (Penitence) appears to Baldassara to bring her her rewards; she confronts the Demon and triumphs over him. Since Alvaro hopes to regain his good graces with the help of Lisa, he finds Baldassara dead, in the midst of a choir of angels and happy souls.

"On foot and by rod" puppet

Marionette with counterweight

Not specified

Spain

Madrid

Italy

Rome

Printed

Conversion

Desert

Hermit

Actress

Miracle

Edifying

Heroic

Religious

Epic

Italian

La Conversione di Santa Baldassarra Comica Spagnuola; La Comica celeste

ovvero La Baldassara

Thalie

Muse

Uranie

Lover (man)

King

Counselor

Servant

Maid

Devil

Soldier

Spectator

Choir

Angel

Play in verse

Chorus

Interlude

Prologue

Theatre within the theatre

Crowd

Sleeping character

Soliloquy

Night scene

Revelation

Failed suicide

Apparition of the Devil

Pact with the devil

Allegory

Death on stage

Flying machine

Apotheosis

Ascent to heaven

Apparition of an angel

La Comica del Cielo

The Actress from the Heavens

The English Marquis leaves the strongbox in which he keeps his wife’s jewellery with the Innkeeper. The brigand Fradiavolo witnesses this and tells his men. At nightfall, the robbers break into the inn to steal the strongbox. But as they hear Cerline’s (the innkeeper’s daughter) prayer, they hesitate. At that moment, Robert – Cerline’s fiancé – arrives at the inn with his own men. The robbers decide to postpone the theft. The following night, the drunken robbers sing Cerline’s prayer. Their plan is thus exposed. Robert is warned by Cerline and manages to arrest the robbers, among which was Fradiavolo.

Rod and string marionette

France

Lille

Handwritten outline

Casette

Robber

Tourism

Theft

Arrest

Jewel

Prayer

Dramatic

French

Sergeant

Knight

Marquis

English man

Frà Diavolo

Innkeeper

Inn scene

Improvised dialogue

La Capture du fameux Fradiavolo

The Capture of the famous Fradiavolo

Tired of always being surrounded by unwelcome suitors, Pimpernelle organises a fake game of blind man’s buff with Lydia. Blindfolded, Pimpernelle will have to guess who is the man kissing her: the first one to be recognised will be the lucky man. Worried about the unpredictable outcome of the game, Estragon, Pimpernelle’s lover, is immediately reassured: at Lydia’s signal, Pimpernelle will know when it is Estragon's turn to kiss her. It is arranged that the game will start the same evening in a garden. As planned, Estragon is recognised and their love is revealed. At nightfall, the statues of a nymph and of a faun come to life, express their mutual desire, and then lament the rising of the sun. At dawn, the nuptial ceremony begins and the procession sets forth.

Shadow theatre

Bernus Alexander von

Germany

Munich

Fool’s game

Love

Gallantries

Lust

Jealousy

Garden

Secret

Lyrical

Fantasy

Comical

Rolf Erik von Hörschelmann, silhouettes and sets for the second scene of Estragon und Pimpernelle.

German

Chambermaid

Suitor

Faun

Statue

Nymph

Setup

Love duet

Statue coming to life

Estragon und Pimpernelle

Estragon and Pimpernelle

A Soldier gives his only three coins to a Beggar whom he crosses path with thrice. The latter reveals himself to be SaintPeter. Saint Peter wanted to test the Soldier’s generosity, so he gives him a magical bag which can make all of his wishes come true. In a tavern, the Soldier learns that the Princess Tutu is held prisoner by the Devil in a haunted castle. Thrown out of the tavern after having stolen a turkey and some wine, the Soldier finds shelter for the night in the castle. He captures the Devil thanks to his bag and hands him over to the King. They kill the Devil together. However, the King had granted his daughter’s hand in marriage to Prince Panpan. The Soldier convinces the King to let him marry his daughter instead, and swears to defeat the army of Prince Panpan. Thanks to his magical bag, the Soldier prevails over the army. But Prince Panpan, the King and Princess Tutu, who has become weary of her new husband, unite so that they can kill the Soldier. The Princess tells them of the secret bag. Together, they hang the bag over the ramparts, but they get carried away by the weight of the Soldier and they all crash on the ground. The three characters knock on Heaven’s door, but they are denied access. The Soldier cannot enter Hell because the Devil is scared of him. Saint Peter refuses that he goes to Heaven because he has stolen a turkey and wine. The Soldier gives him the bag back, but he uses the magic spell which sends the four of them into the bag, thus allowing them to go to Heaven. Disconcerted, Saint Peter asks God for help, and God allows the four characters to stay in Heaven despite their misdeeds. Saint Peter wonders what his actual role is.

Glove-puppet

Young audiences

Paris

Magic object

Hell

Heaven

Reward

Rivalry in love

Punishment

Wedding

Revenge

Satirical

Beggar

Saint Peter

Constable

Valet

Prince

Army

Double identity

Change of head on sight

Massacre scene

Apparition of a god

Aria

Crac ! dans le sac !

Crack! In the sack!

As Carlo Magno’s (Charlemagne) ambassador, Ruggero has gone to ask for the Pope’s help in the impeding war against the African king Agramante and other pagan kings. On the way home, Ruggero kills a snake in the woods. Then, in a port, he saves the princess Aladina as she was being abducted by a giant. At nightfall, Aladina and Ruggero ask for food and bed at Altaripa’s castle. At this moment (in this version), Ruggero is poisoned then killed by the traitor Pinamonte. The necromancer Malagigi hears about the death of Ruggero through demons. But Aladina manages to escape, goes to Carlo Magno’s court and relates this terrible act of treason. The paladins besiege Altaripa’s castle and Bradamante, Ruggero’s wife, kills Pinamonte.

Rod marionette

Armed rod marionette

Palermo

Typewriting

Treason

Poison

Murder

Princess

Kidnapping

Pope

Roger

Ruggero

Snake

Giant

Traitor

Alcina

Magician (female)

Magician

Warrior

Charlemagne (King)

Ganelon

Renaud de Montauban

Orlando

Bradamante

Fight with an animal

Release of a prisoner

Sword fight

Murder on stage

Avventure di Ruggero dell'Aquila bianca

Adventures of Ruggero of the white Eagle

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.

Orphan

Convent

Adoption

Surgery

Vision

Childhood

School

Discrimination

Expulsion

Judgment

Separation

Birthday

Shakespeare

Narrator

Child

Father

Mother

Doctor

Teacher

Director

Judge

Avista

Light effects

Dance

Classroom scene

Court scene

Jeannot trois yeux

Three-Eyed Jeannot

Whilst she is walking on a beach, Caroline, a puppeteer, tells Filip the story of how they met twenty years ago. The action of the play goes back to that time, when she was a student and was attending her last drawing class. The teacher gives them a horse as part of a teaching experiment. The horse suddenly bursts in the classroom. Sacha is then informed that her father, who lives in another country thousands of miles away, is dying. Caroline offers to go with her and so she can say her last goodbye. They drive there with Raphaël, whose girlfriend Marie lives close to their final destination. When they arrive at Marie’s house, Raphaël learns that Marie has been cheating on him with his brother. He still decides to stay with her. Caroline and Sasha leave and arrive in the holiday cottage of one of their classmates. There, Caroline meets Filip. They share a night of love, but at dawn, he is gone. Caroline and Sasha continue their journey where they witness an accident, and they arrive in the village where Sasha’s father lives. Sasha goes to join him whilst Caroline walks along the little streets and meets the villagers. Sasha comes back and announces that her father died. She’s holding a picture of herself when she was a child, and starts talking to the picture and telling it about her passion for puppets. The next day, Sasha and Caroline attend the funeral, and then take a plane to go back to France.