Edmond Rostand
Writing
Biography
Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century. Another of Rostand's works, Les Romanesques (1894), was adapted to the 1960 musical comedy The Fantasticks. Rostand was born in Marseille, France, into a wealthy and cultured Provençal family. His father was an economist, a poet who translated and edited the works of Catullus, and a member of the Marseille Academy and the Institut de France. Rostand studied literature, history, and philosophy at the Collège Stanislas in Paris, France. When Rostand was twenty years old, his first play, a one-act comedy, Le Gant rouge, was performed at the Cluny Theatre, 24 August 1888, but it was almost unnoticed. He and his fiancé Rosemonde Gérard became friends with Emmanuel Chabrier in 1889, and the composer quickly set three of his poems (and two of hers) to music; the following year the two collaborated on À la musique for the house-warming of a mutual friend. In 1890, Rostand published a volume of poems called Les Musardises. The same year he offered a one-act Pierrot play in verse to the director of the Théâtre François. This gave him the opportunity to write for the state theatre a three-act play, also in verse, as are all Rostand's plays. He considered himself a poet, whether writing plays or poetry. The resulting play, Les Romanesques, was produced at the Théâtre François on 21 May 1894. It was a great success and was the start of his career as a dramatist. This play would be adapted in 1960 by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt into the long-running American musical The Fantasticks. Rostand's next play was written for Sarah Bernhardt. La Princesse Lointaine was based on the story of the 12th-century troubadour Jaufre Rudel and his love for Hodierna of Jerusalem (who is the archetypal princesse lointaine character). This idealistic play opened on 5 April 1895, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance. The part of Melisandre (based on Hodierna's daughter Melisende of Tripoli) was created by Sarah Bernhardt but the play was not particularly successful. When Bernhardt performed it in London later the same year, it received a bad review from George Bernard Shaw but this was not surprising considering Shaw's bias for realism. Rambaldo di Vaqueiras: I Monferrato, 1922 1922 verse drama by Nino Berrini(it) is based on La Princesse Lointaine. Bernhardt, undeterred, asked Rostand to write another play for her. She created the role of Photine in La Samaritaine (Theatre de la Renaissance, 14 April 1897), a Biblical drama in three scenes adapted from the gospel story of the woman of Samaria. This play was more successful and became part of Sarah Bernhardt's repertoire. Rostand felt satisfied that he had proven to the public that he was something more than a writer of comedies. ... Source: Article "Edmond Rostand" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For
A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.
BBC Play of the Month
Sunday Night Theatre was a long-running series of televised live television plays screened by BBC Television from early 1950 until 1959. The productions for the first five years or so of the run were re-staged live the following Thursday, partly because of technical limitations in this era, and the theatrical basis of early television drama. Some of the earliest collaborations between Rudolph Cartier and Nigel Neale were produced for this series, including Arrow to the Heart and Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Sunday night drama slot was subsequently renamed The Sunday-Night Play which ran for four seasons between 1960 and 1963. ITV transmitted its own unrelated run of Sunday Night Theatre between 1971 and 1974.
Sunday Night Theatre
In this modern take on Edmond Rostand's classic play "Cyrano de Bergerac," C. D. Bales is the witty, intelligent, and brave fire chief of a small Pacific Northwest town who, due to the size of his enormous nose, declines to pursue the girl of his dreams, lovely Roxanne Kowalski. Instead, when his shy underling Chris McConnell becomes smitten with Roxanne, C.D. feeds the handsome young man the words of love to win her heart.
Roxanne
No description available.
Nesmrteľní
A man ahead of his time, Cyrano de Bergerac dazzles whether with ferocious wordplay at a verbal joust or with brilliant swordplay in a duel. But, convinced that his appearance renders him unworthy of the love of a devoted friend, the luminous Roxanne, Cyrano has yet to declare his feelings for her—and Roxanne has fallen in love, at first sight, with Christian.
Cyrano
Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
Cyrano de Bergerac
France, 1640. Cyrano, the charismatic swordsman-poet with the absurd nose, hopelessly loves the beauteous Roxane; she, in turn, confesses to Cyrano her love for the handsome but tongue-tied Christian. The chivalrous Cyrano sets up with Christian an innocent deception, with tragic results.
Cyrano de Bergerac
No description available.
Replay
17-year-old Cyril is funny, smart and an all-round good guy. Just his somewhat overlarge nose spoils the picture. On a school trip to Berlin with Roxy, a stunning new classmate, Cyril is not the only one taken with her. Benno, the class Casanova has his eye on the girl too and makes a nasty wager. Roxy is more interested in the introverted Rick, who is not only shy but also slow. Cyril hastens with his spoken word skills to Rick's aid, and falls head over heels in love with Roxy himself. So whose brave heart will win the fair lady?
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
As incomparable in swordplay and wordplay as he is, the gallant soldier, philosopher, and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is as timid as a schoolboy before the fair Roxanne. Derek Jacobi delivers an electrifying award-winning portrayal of Rostand's legendary log-nosed swordsman in this highly acclaimed production from the world's premier theatre troupe, The Royal Shakespeare Company. The bold Cyrano boasts he can defeat a hundred men in a swordfight, but because of his grotesque nose lacks the confidence to court the woman he loves. Yet so entranced with Roxanne is Cyrano that he uses the eloquence of his poetry to woo her for a rival.
Cyrano de Bergerac
Fierce with a pen and notorious in combat, Cyrano almost has it all - if only he could win the heart of his true love Roxane. There’s just one big problem: he has a nose as huge as his heart. Will a society engulfed by narcissism get the better of Cyrano - or can his mastery of language set Roxane’s world alight?
National Theatre Live: Cyrano de Bergerac
Long-nosed Cyrano de Begerac helps an army officer woo Roxanne, the woman he loves in this animated version of Edmond Rostand's play.
Cyrano
In love with Roxane, who is herself in love with the youngest son of Gascony, Christian de Neuvilette, Cyrano dictates his words of love to the young man. But the Count de Guiche, an unhappy rival, takes revenge by sending Christian and Cyrano to the siege of Arras.
Cyrano de Bergerac
Edmund Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac, transplanted to Japan. A poet-warrior with an oversized nose (matched only by his great heart) loves a lady. But she sees him only as a friend, so he helps another man to woo her by giving him the poetry of his own heart.
Samurai Saga
Cyrano de Begerac helps an army officer woo Roxanne, the woman he loves.
Cyrano de Begerac
Lively scenes of Paris, all narrated by Maurice Chevalier, link together four dramatic ballet choreographies by Roland Petit: La Croqueuse de diamants (The Gold Digger), Cyrano de Bergerac, Deuil en 24 heures (A Merry Mourning), and Carmen.
Black Tights
Long-nosed Cyrano de Bergerac helps an army officer woo Roxanne, the woman he loves.
Cyrano de Bergerac
Widowers Amos and Ben plot to romantically unite Amos’ daughter, Luisa, and Ben’s son, Matt, by pretending to feud and forbidding the teens to associate, knowing they will resist their fathers’ interference. As the two youngsters fall in love, the fathers plot to end the "feud" by hiring a traveling showman to fake an abduction and allow Matt to "rescue" Luisa.
The Fantasticks
No description available.
Cyrano z Bergeracu
An adaptation of the play L'Aiglon by Edmond Rostand, which portrays the life of Napoleon I.