Francesca Da Rimini (1855), a tragedy by George H. Boker. [ Broadway Theatre, 8 perf.] In hopes of putting an end to the long feud between Guelfs and Ghibellines, Lanciotto (E. L. Davenport) of Rimini is engaged to Francesca (Elizabeth Ponisi) of Ravenna. Lanciotto is a spindly hunchback whose brother Paolo (Mr. Lanergan) has often had to defend him from cruel jibes. The brothers love each other, so Lanciotto asks Paolo to go to Ravenna to bring back the bride. Paolo and Francesca fall in love, but at first both attempt to constrain themselves. The sight of Lanciotto, however, drives Francesca into the handsome Paolo's arms. When the vicious jester, Pepe (Charles Fisher), reports the rendezvous to Lanciotto, Lanciotto kills him. In a jealous fury he rushes to find Paolo and Francesca in an embrace. He kills them, too, then stabs himself. Derived from an incident in Dante, the drama was only moderately successful at first. Fine revivals by Lawrence Barrett in 1882 and Otis Skinner in 1901 led to a further appreciation of its merits. Boker's modern biographer, Professor Sculley Bradley, has written in Literary History of the United States, “In Francesca da Rimini . . . Boker found his masterpiece. Of seven plays on this theme in four languages, his is the only one to conceive the pathos of the deformed husband, Lanciotto, without sacrificing the enduring appeal of the young lovers, Paolo and Francesca, and to recognize that callous society, not fate, was the agent of the tragedy. . . . With this play, romantic tragedy in America achieved the dignity of art.”
Francesca da Rimini
| American Theater Guide: Francesca Da Rimini |
| Music Encyclopedia: Francesca da Rimini |
Symphonic fantasia by Tchaikovsky (op.32) after a picture by Doré (1876).
Opera in a prologue, two scenes and an epilogue by Rakhmaninov to a libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky (1906, Moscow).
Opera in four acts by Zandonai to a libretto by T. Ricordi after d′Annunzio (1914, Turin).
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Francesca da Rimini |
Dictionary:
Francesca da Ri·mi·ni (də rĭm'ə-nē, dä rē'mē-nē)  , Died c. 1285. |
Italian noblewoman. Unhappily married, she fell in love with her brother-in-law. When her husband learned of the affair, he murdered his wife and brother, a tragedy recounted in Dante's Inferno.
| Wikipedia: Francesca da Rimini |
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Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (1255 – 1285) was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, lord of Ravenna. She was a historical contemporary of Dante Alighieri, who portrayed her as a character in the Divine Comedy.
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Arranged marriage
Guido I da Polenta had been at war with the Malatesta family. When a peace was negotiated, Guido wanted to solidify it by marrying his daughter Francesca to the Malatestan heir, Giovanni Malatesta (Gianciotto), son of Malatesta da Verucchio, lord of Rimini. Giovanni was brave but deformed. Guido knew Francesca would refuse Giovanni, so the wedding was performed by proxy through Giovanni's handsome brother, Paolo.
Francesca fell in love with Paolo and was unaware of the deception until the morning after the wedding day.
According to Dante, Francesca and Paolo were seduced by reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, and became lovers. Subsequently they were surprised and murdered by Giovanni before they were able to repent. However, it is likely that the adultery was much more calculated. Both Francesca and the also-married Paolo had their own children. Dante used the romance of Lancelot in order to fit within the scheme of lyric love poetry, which Francesca emulates in her lines of Inferno's Canto V.
Related works
Poetry
- Dante, Divine Comedy. (Inferno, Canto V), (1308-1321)
- Leigh Hunt, The Story of Rimini (1816).
Theatre and opera
- Silvio Pellico, Francesca da Rimini. (1818). Tragedy.
- Feliciano Strepponi, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Padua, (1823).
- Paolo Carlini, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Naples,(1825).
- Saverio Mercadante, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Madrid, (1828).
- Gaetano Quilici, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Lucca, (1829).
- Pietro Generali, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Venice, (1829).
- Giuseppe Staffa, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Naples, (1831).
- Fournier-Gorre, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Livorno, (1832).
- Francesco Morlacchi, Francesca da Rimini. Opera (1836), unperformed.
- Antonio Tamburini, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Rimini, (1836).
- Emanuele Borgatta, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Genoa, (1837).
- Gioacchino Maglioni, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Genoa, (1840).
- Eugene Nordal, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Linz, (1840, posth.)
- Salvatore Papparlado, Francesca da Rimini. Opera; Genoa, (1840), not performed.
- George Henry Boker, Francesca da Rimini. (1853). Play.
- Gabriele d'Annunzio, Francesca da Rimini. Tragedy written (1901) for d'Annunzio's mistress, Eleonora Duse.
- Stephen Phillips, Paolo & Francesca. Play (1902).[1]
- Francis Marion Crawford, Francesca da Rimini. (1902). Play.
- Marcel Schwob, Francesca da Rimini. Play (1903), translation of Crawford.
- Sergei Rachmaninoff, Francesca da Rimini. Opera (1906).
- Franco Leoni, Francesca da Rimini. Opera (1914), based on Crawford's play.
- Riccardo Zandonai, Francesca da Rimini. Opera (1914).
- Nino Berrini, Francesca da Rimini. Play (1924).
Music
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Francesca da Rimini. Symphonic Poem (1876).
- Arthur Foote, Symphonic Prologue Francesca da Rimini, Op.24 (1890).
- Antonio Bazzini, Symphonic Poem Francesca da Rimini, Op.77 (Berlin, 1889/90).
- Paul von Klenau, Symphonic Poem Francesca da Rimini, (1913 - rev.1919).
Art
- Joseph Anton Koch, Paolo and Francesca Surprised by Gianciotto (1805-10). Watercolor, Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen.
- Marie-Philippe Coupin de la Couperie, The Tragic Love of Francesca da Rimini (1812). Oil on canvas, Napoleon Museum, Arenberg
- Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Paolo and Francesca (1819). Oil on canvas. Musée des Beux-Arts, Angers, France.
- Ary Scheffer, Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta appraised by Dante and Virgil (1835). Oil on canvas. Wallace Collection, London.
- Ary Scheffer, Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta appraised by Dante and Virgil (1855). Oil on canvas. Louvre, Paris.
- Gustave Doré, Francesca da Rimini (illustration to Dante's Inferno, 1857).
- Alexandre Cabanel, The Death of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta (1870). Oil on canvas. Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
- Auguste Rodin, The Kiss. Marble sculpture (1888), Musée Rodin, Paris.
 Joseph Anton Koch, Paolo and Francesca Surprised by Gianciotto (1805-10). |
 Alexandre Cabanel, Mort de Francesca da Rimini et de Paolo Malatesta, ca. 1870. |
 Marie-Philippe Coupin de la Couperie, The Tragic Love of Francesca da Rimini, 1812 |
Notes
- ^ Produced by Sir George Alexander at the St. James' Theatre beginning 6 March 1902. Mason, p. 237.
References
- Mason, A. E. W. (1935). Sir George Alexander & The St. James' Theatre. Reissued 1969, New York: Benjamin Blom.
- Hollander, Robert and Jean (2000). The Inferno. Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49698-2.
- Singleton, Charles S. (1970). The Divine Comedy, Inferno/Commentary. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01895-2.
External links
- World of Dante Multimedia website that includes gallery of images of the Paolo and Francesca episode.
- WisdomPortal Includes images of related artworks.
- The Story of Rimini Google Books edition of Leigh Hunt's poem.
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Mentioned in
- Rimini, Francesca da
- Francesca Da Rimini (Film)
- Paolo and Francesca (1953 Film)
- George Henry Boker (American poet & dramatist)
- Silvio Pellico (Italian poet)
- Konrad Falke (person)
- Antonio Cagnoni (music)
- Dante Alighieri (music)
- Gabriele d'Annunzio
- Antonio Bazzini
- Toti Dal Monte
- Yuri Zhdanov (person)
- Riccardo Zandonai (music)
- Parisina, opera (tragedia lirica) in 4 acts (Classical Work)
