Teodosio (Theodosius, Emperor of Constantinople) welcomes Marciano’s army. Marciano is returning victorious from the Persian Empire, and he is bringing back Ariene, the fiancée of Varane (king of Persia). Teodosio asks that Ariene be released, and he offers her peace; but the Queen is too proud. Atenaide, a young Greek woman devoted to philosophy, hesitates between coming back to Athens and staying with the Emperor: although she loves him, she fears that their respective statuses are too different. Varane arrives at court in disguise. He befriends Atenaide and expresses jealousy at Teodosio being generous with his wife. Pulcheria welcomes Marciano, whom she loves. Teodosio is jealous of Atenaide and Varane. When Teodosio accepts Ariene’s gift—she gave him fruit to thank him for his generosity—Varane, who is watching them, believes that they are having an affair. Atenaide believes so too. To reassure Atenaide, Teodosio gives her the fruit, which she gives Varane in turn, since the stranger insisted on it. Atenaide’s companion, Acrisia, reveals to Eridione, Ariene’s servant, a miraculous fountain that changes into a dragon. She gives him a dance lesson, which introduces the interlude. Marciano is watching out for Varane on the shore. He witnesses Varane and Ariene reuniting. Since Marciano wishes to catch his enemy, whom he has recognised, the Queen steps in to protect her husband. But Varane orders her to leave. After refusing Marciano’s peace proposal, Varane is defeated. Teodosio offers peace again; Varane rejects it another time. As the Emperor is reading Costantino’s story in the library, Ariene arrives. Atenaide watches them with jealousy. Ariene and Teodosio believe that their lovers have betrayed them. Finally convinced that Teodosio loves her, Atenaide is also suspected of unfaithfulness, since she cannot give back the fruit which her husband gifted her. Atenaide manages to convince Ariene of Varane’s faithfulness; and Acrisia promises to fix the situation. She makes four pages appear in the library, then she gives Eridione an astrology lesson; Eridione is taken into the air on a cloud. The tables of the library change into nymphs; they begin to dance. Pulcheria reproaches her brother for his unchristian jealousy, and commands him to stop seeing Atenaide. Ariene and Varane reconcile and knock down Teodosio’s statue. The Emperor dismisses Atenaide. He hesitates over putting his enemy to death, but eventually decides to be consistent: he spares Varane’s life and offers him a throne. Faced with such generosity, Varane is vanquished. Teodosio’ marriage is being prepared. Teodosio despairs at the thought of never seeing Atenaide again. Pulcheria summons the new bride, who turns out to be Atenaide calling herself Eudocia. The Emperor and the young Greek woman celebrate their wedding at the same time as Pulcheria and Marciano.

Marionette with counterweight

"On foot and by rod" puppet

Not specified

Italy

Rome

Printed

Constantinople

Jealousy

Captives

Constancy

Regency

Edifying

Laudatory

Religious

Pietro Ottoboni, Teodisio il Giovane, 1711 (central engraving)

Italian

Theodosius

Emperor

Pulcheria

Sister

General

Virgin

Lady-in-waiting

King

Wife

Servant

Interlude

Music

Procession

Love rivalry

Disguised character (false identity)

Magic spell

Metamorphosis

Flying character

Plot scene

Duel scene

Monologue

Change of social status

Final wedding

Teodosio il Giovane

Theodosius the Young

A voice tells Marie that she is about to be pregnant with God. Marie says a prayer to God, in which she expresses at once her shame, her pain and her sense of fulfillment. Then she greets Elisabeth, who praises the light emanating from her. Marie thanks her but she also mentions her pain and the tears she has shed. In the barn, Joseph marvels at the celestial voices he has just heard, and reveals his confusion at Marie’s state, who can miraculously see the star and hear these voices. A group of shepherds comes. Each brings a present (a toy, a jar of honey, bread) and leaves. Once alone with Marie, Joseph wonders whether he is dreaming. Gaspar, Balthazar and Melchior come in. They relate their journey and how the star has appeared to them, and they leave a present (incense, gold, an ornamented staff). Joseph still vacillates from rapture to incomprehension, and he praises their new-found wealth and Marie’s lit up face. But an angel warns them about King Herod’s anger. He advises them to flee to Egypt.

Shadow theatre

Bernus Alexander von

Germany

Munich

Nativity

Annunciation

Visitation Festival

Light

Lyrical

Karl Thylmann, silhouettes and sceneries for "The Annunciation" in Heiliges Spiel.

German

Voice

Virgin Mary

Elisabeth (Mary's cousin)

Joseph

Shepherd

Caspar

Balthazar

Melchior

Angel

Prayer

Instrumental tune

Chorus

Heiliges Spiel

Sacred play

A small colony of cockroaches lives in the centre of a flowery meadow. Doña Curiana (Lady Cockroach) is sad: her son, Curianito el Nene (Cockroach Junior) is a daydreaming poet, lost in stargazing. Against his mother’s wishes, who keeps insisting on it, he refuses to marry the coquette Curianita Silvia (Sylvie the Cockroachette). Curiniato does not love her; he is waiting for an ideal Love, a dream “clung to the star that looks like a flower”. Suddenly, Alacrancito el Cortamimbres (Slice-Wicker the Scorpion), an old lumberjack and a drunkard, appears and threatens to eat them all. Then, a group of female Cockroaches from the countryside appears. They are carrying a white butterfly with a broken wing: the Butterfly (or Moth). The Curiana Nigromántica (The (female) Necromancer Cockroach) tends to the wounds of the Butterfly and asks doña Curiana to take her home with her and keep watch over her. Curiniato falls madly in love with the Butterfly, who wakes up during a full moon, and starts beating her wings and dancing, without paying attention to the desperate Curianito’s inflamed declaration of love. The play, the manuscript we have of it being incomplete, stops at this moment and ends with a funeral procession which carries the lifeless body of Curianito away.

García Lorca Federico

Spain

Madrid

Grassland

Insect

Impossible love

Dramatic

Fantasy

Comical

Tragic

Federico García Lorca, drawing for El maleficio de la mariposa, 1920

Spanish

Cockroach

Butterfly

Cortamimbres (Scorpion)

Worm

Prologue

Dance

Play in verse

Talking animal

Aria

Dream

El maleficio de la mariposa

The Butterfly’s Evil Spell

Canezou – a rich Parisian merchant – suggests that her daughter marry the son of his friend Fromaget – a young, rich, handsome and intelligent man. But the fickle girl turns down all commoner suitors. Arthur Galuchait – the son of one of Canezou’s old friends – returns to Paris after having become rich in the Indies, and he proposes to Caroline. Her father warns Arthur about his daughter’s state of mind. The young man leaves an excellent first impression on Caroline but is then thrown out on the street when she discovers that he does not have noble blood. Arthur stumbles on Oscar, another suitor rejected on the same grounds by the fair girl. They both want to teach Caroline a lesson and join up with the carpenter Billembois. Then Arthur goes to Canezou’s house dressed Indian-style to deliver a message from the king Menemetapa – the King wants his son to marry the fair Caroline, his son having fallen in love after seeing her at the Théâtre des Italiens. For this reason, the young Prince is going to grant Canezou the rank of “Grand Crustacé du royaume” (Great Crustacean of the kingdom). Canezou summons his daughter, who trembles with emotion. Oscar is disguised in the middle of a parade of servants and escorts Billembois, who is wearing a fake moustache and the costume of an oriental prince. Billembois proposes to Caroline in a speech of exotic gibberish, and she is enthralled and agrees to marry him. Billembois kisses Caroline. When Canezou and Caroline are about to sign the prenuptial agreement written by Oscar, Billembois has qualms about hurting Caroline. He reveals the fraud and removes his mask. Arthur gets angry at Billembois, who was supposed to disclose his true identity only after signing the agreement. Oscar removes his disguise too. Oscar, Arthur, Billembois and the rest of the procession leave. Cured of her dreams of greatness, Caroline admits that she is still under Billembois’s spell. Canezou is flabbergasted and keeps talking about Fromaget’s son.