Guignol – Vincent’s servant – has lost his wife Madelon, who ate a melon and died of food poisoning. Vincent plans on having him marry Louison – Gnafron’s daughter – so that his two servants are bound to one another. But Guignol deeply misses his wife, with whom he was always quarreling. He leaves his master’s house with the intention of going down to the Underworld to get her back. However, Gnafron finds Guignol sitting in a wine shop. After an enjoyable meal, they go back to their master. As the marriage settlement is being drafted, Louison is delighted to have finally found a husband. She pushes Guignol in front of her with a hairpin and promises him that she will be as mean as his first wife. But Guignol manages to escape before the contract is signed: Gnafron and Louison chase after him, while Vincent decides to sit at a table to eat with his neighbour Durand.
Guignol is exhausted while looking for Madelon. He falls asleep and sees the Génie of goodness, who presents him in his dream with an image of his wife accompanied by an imp. When he wakes up, Guignol summons the Génie, who warns him about the dangers that await. He also describes the five rivers of the Underworld. But Guignol is a proud man from Lyon: he knows how to swim, and he is not scared! Before Charon lets him on his rowboat for free (Guignol promises that with such prices he will be a most loyal client), he warns the hero that Madelon is Proserpine (Proserpina)’s companion, and Proserpine might not give her back to him. Guignol insists and repeats that he is not afraid of Cerbère (Cerberus). In fact, he means to coax its seven heads with bread and cheese. When he meets Pluton (Pluto), Guignol asks for his wife to be given back to him. The king of the Underworld remembers that the man appealing to him is protected by the Génie of goodness and thus summons his wife. Proserpine refuses to let Madelon go—she clings on to her as to her meanest companion. Then she yields, on condition that the wife consents to it. Madelon arrives, hits her husband and hurls insults at him. But Guignol provides good arguments: he has just come into an inheritance of sugar, coffee, eau de vie and absinthe… After thinking it over for a few minutes, Madelon agrees to follow him, on the flying dragon that Pluton lends Guignol to take them back up to the surface. Before they leave, the king of the Underworld promises to organise a feast for them. They are delighted about the idea, but the flames of the Underworld force them to flee before they can taste anything.

Glove-puppet

Not specified

Vuillerme-Dunand Victor-Napoléon

Manuscript

Wedding

Descent into hell

Resurrection

Glutton

Boat trip

Burlesque

Mock-heroic

Farcical

La Descente de Guignol aux Enfers (cover page)

French

Notary

Rentier

Guignol

Domestic servant

Gnafron

Concierge

Young woman

Genie

Pluto

Proserpina

Devil

Charon

Popular speech

Dinner scene

Dream

Apparition of a genie

Domestic scene

Avista

Flying machine

La Descente de Guignol aux Enfers

Guignol's Trip to the Underworld

The shepherd Tityre lives in the Arcadian mountains with his beloved, a Zither player named Lycoris. One day, Lycoris strays away from their home and is captured by Lycophon, a pirate who sells her to a slaveholder Flagellantus, then to the Emperor’s barber Pelliculus and finally to the senator Mamillarus. Tityre follows the pirate ship to save his beloved. In the meantime, Mamillarus and Titus are waiting for a feast to begin. Tityre decides to buy his beloved back, but he does not have enough money. Therefore, he decides to start serving Mamillarus and his wife Mamillara. However, it is discovered that Tityre is in fact Mamillarus’ legitimate son, who was kidnapped by bandits. At the end of the play, César Titus arrives and sings his goodness and his absence of pride, in the fashion of street “hits”. He gives Lycoris her freedom back and offers to pay for the wedding.

Maurice Sand (Maurice Sand)

France

Nohant

Printed

Ancient history

Love

Piracy

Slavery

Adventure

Emperor

Relationship between father and son

Comical

Satirical

Maurice Sand, hand-puppet (between 1850 and 1875).

Le Berger Tityre

Senator

Citizen

Shepherd

Lover

Barber

Pirate

Storyteller

Guard

Slave

Coryphaeus

Wife

Sheperherdess

Comedy of language

Sung scenes

Prologue

Address to the public

Allusion to the audience

Monologue

Quote

La Clémence de Titus

The Clemency of Titus

Isabella complains about being in the countryside to her husband Leandro. Her sister Bellinda downplays the situation. Petronio, their father, has been going through some financial difficulties but he announces that things are looking up and that they may be able to go back to the city. As he leaves, Isabella asks him to bring back clothes and jewels for her, and Bellinda only asks for a rose bush. After several misadventures, Petronio and his servant Gerolamo arrive in a nice place where a table is set, but no one is around it. They eat, drink, sleep, and find the horses ready for departure. As he walks through the garden, Petronio wants to get a rose bush for Bellinda, but thunder breaks out. The monster Azor, the owner of the place, tells Petronio that he is an ungrateful thief and that he will pay for it with his life, unless one of his daughters sacrifices herself to save him. Petronio relates what happened to his daughters. Bellinda decides to follow him and to sacrifice herself to save him. They arrive at Azor's palace and eat. Azor asks Bellinda if she came here willingly. Her father does not want her to stay, but she does anyway. A fairy reassures them. The monster is ugly but kind: he wants Bellinda to keep him company. However, she sees in the mirror that, back home, her father is ill. With Azor’s permission, she leaves but promises to be back soon. Unfortunately, Isabella, jealous of her sister’s wealth, holds her up. Sad and disappointed, Azor hides. Bellinda finds him and tells him that she wants to marry him. The curse under which he was breaks, and, thanks to Bellinda’s love, he turns back into a handsome prince. He brings Petronio and Gerolamo to his gorgeous palace, and relegates Isabella and her husband to a tower.