Hernani ou l'Honneur Castillan | |
---|---|
Written by | Victor Hugo |
Characters |
|
Date premiered | 25 February 1830 |
Place premiered | Paris |
Original language | French |
Subject | Courtly romance |
Genre | Drama |
Setting | Spanish court, 1519 |
Hernani (full title: Hernani, ou l'Honneur Castillan) is a drama in rhyming alexandrines by the French romantic author Victor Hugo.
The title originates from Hernani, a Spanish town in the Southern Basque Country, where Hugo's mother and her three children stopped on their way to General Hugo's place of residence. [1]
The play was given its premiere on 25 February 1830 by the Comédie-Française in Paris. [2] Today, it is more remembered for the demonstrations which accompanied the first performance and for being the inspiration for Giuseppe Verdi's opera Ernani than it is for its own merits. Hugo had enlisted the support of fellow Romanticists such as Hector Berlioz and Théophile Gautier [3] to combat the opposition of Classicists who recognised the play as a direct attack on their values.
Hernani is used to describe the magnitude and elegance of Prince Prospero's masquerade in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Masque of the Red Death". Gillenormand in Les Misérables criticizes Hernani. [4]
Verdi's opera Ernani, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, was based on the play, and first performed in Venice in 1844.
An English-language adaption by the American playwright John Strand appeared in 2013. [5]
Set in a fictitious version of the Spanish court of 1519, it is based on courtly romance and intrigues. Three men — two noblemen and a mysterious bandit — are in love with the same woman. What follows in the ensuing chaos of action prompted the biographer of Hugo, J.P. Houston, to write "... and a résumé [plot synopsis] will necessarily fail, as in the case of Notre-Dame de Paris, to suggest anything like the involution of its details". [6]
In the first scenes Hugo introduces Don Carlos, King of Spain (the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) sneaking into the bedchamber of Doña Sol. He forces her maid to help conceal him within the room. Shortly thereafter, Doña Sol enters to welcome her lover Hernani. Hernani and Sol discuss their situation − Doña Sol is about to be forced to marry her elderly uncle, and Hernani is a bandit whose father was executed by the previous King. Hernani and Doña Sol plot to run away together, but Don Carlos emerges from the cabinet where he was hiding, disrupting them. The two men clash swords, but are interrupted by Sol's uncle and fiancé Don Ruy Gomez de Silva. He demands to know why both men are in Sol's private chambers. Don Carlos reveals his identity, and asserts that he had come hoping to meet Ruy Gomez to discuss the recent death of Emperor Maximilian, and claims that Hernani is a member of his entourage, thereby allowing everyone to leave peacefully.
Don Carlos had overheard Sol and Hernani's plans to run away together, and accompanied with some aristocratic friends he appears at the rendezvous point, hoping to seduce Sol in Hernani's place. Doña Sol recognizes him and rejects him. Infuriated, Don Carlos attempts to abduct her. As Don Carlos and Doña Sol struggle over a dagger, Hernani arrives with his own sixty men having overtaken the king's three friends. He explains his hatred for the king over the death of his own father, and challenges Don Carlos to a duel. This time, the King is aware of Hernani's identity as a bandit, and he refuses a duel (as only noblemen could duel), but challenges Hernani to murder him. Hernani's sense of honor prevents him from attacking a man who won't fight back. The King escapes, and sends his men to arrest Hernani and his band of thieves. Hernani escapes after a farewell to Doña Sol.
Doña Sol and Ruy Gomez prepare for their wedding, and hear news that Hernani's men have all been murdered. Hernani arrives at the house in disguise, and Ruy Gomez takes him in as a guest. Hernani − apparently suicidal − reveals his identity and tries to provoke the servants to arrest him, but Ruy Gomez still insists on protecting him. Hernani admonishes Doña Sol for agreeing to the marriage, but when she reveals that she plans to kill herself on the wedding night, he has a change of heart and encourages her to accept the match. Ruy Gomez is appalled to learn of Sol and Hernani's relationship, considering it a betrayal of his hospitality, but he still continues his protection. The King arrives to arrest Hernani, but Ruy Gomez refuses to surrender him, citing laws of hospitality, which, he asserts, protect his guests even from the King. The King threatens Ruy Gomez, and Doña Sol intercedes for him. The King forgives Ruy Gomez but abducts Doña Sol. Alone, Ruy Gomez releases Hernani, initially intending to fight him to the death; but when Hernani learns of Doña Sol's abduction he insists on trying to rescue her and promises to surrender himself to Ruy Gomez after Sol is safe. Hernani secures his promise by giving Ruy Gomez a horn to blow to announce the moment when Hernani should die.
Two months later, in June 1519, in Aachen (capital of the Holy Roman Empire), Don Carlos is awaiting the results of the imperial election while thwarting a conspiracy; among the conspirators are Don Ruy Gomez and Hernani. The latter, appointed to assassinate the king, refuses to give way to Don Ruy Gomez, who nevertheless asks him to break the pact. Don Carlos is elected emperor. He pardons the conspirators and announces the marriage of Doña Sol to Hernani. Hernani reveals his true identity: he is John of Aragon, noble but born in exile; and he abandons his idea of revenge.
Sol and Hernani are married, but, as they enjoy their wedding feast, Hernani hears the call of the horn blown by Ruy Gomez. As Hernani is about to drink poison, Doña Sol enters the room and tries to convince him that he is hers and he does not have to listen to her uncle. She is unable to persuade him otherwise. Doña Sol, shocked by Hernani's decision to kill himself, drinks half of the poison. Hernani drinks the other half and they die in each other's arms. Ruy Gomez de Silva kills himself.
Role | Description |
---|---|
Hernani | Son of the recently murdered king, in love with Dona Sol. |
Dona Sol de Silva | In love with Hernani, but betrothed to Gomez. |
Don Carlos | The king of Spain, also in love with Dona Sol. |
Don Ruy Gomez de Silva | Duke of Pastrana, Dona Sol's uncle and her fiancé. |
Don Carlos is a fictionalized version of the real King Carlos I, later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Don Ruy Gomez de Silva, Duke of Pastrana, gets his name from an actual duke by that name, though the fictional version is an old man in 1519 whereas the real de Silva would have been a toddler at this date. Hernani's name comes from a Basque town where Hugo once stayed. [7]
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. Cortés was part of the generation of Spanish explorers and conquistadors who began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1830 play Hernani by Victor Hugo.
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms.
Succession to the Spanish throne follows male-preference cognatic primogeniture. A dynast who marries against the express prohibition of the monarch and the Cortes Generales, the legislative chamber of Spain, is excluded from the succession. Upon proclamation by the Cortes Generales, the monarch is to take an oath to discharge his duties faithfully, to abide by the Constitution and the law and ensure they are abided by, and to respect the rights of the citizens and of the Autonomous Communities.
Infanta Margarita of Spain, Duchess of Soria, 2nd Duchess of Hernani, Grandee of Spain, is the younger sister of King Juan Carlos and aunt of the reigning King Felipe VI of Spain.
The Spanish royal family constitutes the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon, also known as the House of Bourbon-Anjou. The royal family is headed by King Felipe VI and currently consists of the King; Queen Letizia; their children, Leonor, Princess of Asturias, and Infanta Sofía; and Felipe's parents, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía. The royal family lives at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, although their official residence is the Royal Palace of Madrid. The membership of the royal family is defined by royal decree and consists of: the King of Spain, the monarch's spouse, the monarch's parents, his children, and the heir to the Spanish throne.
Le Cid is a five-act French tragicomedy written by Pierre Corneille, first performed in December 1636 at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris and published the same year. It is based on Guillén de Castro's play Las Mocedades del Cid. Castro's play in turn is based on the legend of El Cid.
Don César de Bazan is an opéra comique in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Adolphe d'Ennery, Philippe-François Pinel "Dumanoir" and Jules Chantepie, based on the play by d'Ennery and Dumanoir, which was first performed at Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in 1844. This in turn drew on the popular character of Don César de Bazan, in the 1838 drama Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo, though it has little connection with the plot of Hugo's drama. Massenet's opera was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 30 November 1872.
Ruy Blas is a tragic drama by Victor Hugo. It was the first play presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and opened on November 8, 1838. Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best drama, the play was initially met with only average success.
Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma and Piacenza was the head of the ducal House of Bourbon-Parma from 1977 until his death. Carlos Hugo was a Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain and sought to change the political direction of the Carlist movement through the Carlist Party, of which he was the official head during the fatal Montejurra incidents. His marriage to Princess Irene of the Netherlands in 1964 caused a constitutional crisis in the Netherlands.
Ana de Mendoza de la Cerda y de Silva Cifuentes, Princess of Eboli, Duchess of Pastrana, was a Spanish aristocrat, suo jure 2nd Princess of Mélito, 2nd Duchess of Francavilla and 3rd Countess of Aliano.
Delusions of Grandeur is a 1971 French comedy film directed by Gérard Oury. It is a very liberal comedic adaptation of the play Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo.
El revólver sangriento is a 1964 Mexican western-drama film directed by Miguel M. Delgado, and starring Luis Aguilar, Lola Beltrán, Flor Silvestre, Emilio Fernández, Manuel Capetillo, Antonio Aguilar, and Irma Dorantes, as credited in the film's theatrical posters. The lead actors were credited in an unusual "rigorous appearance on the screen" style, where the film's main characters are not ordered by importance, but by on-screen appearance. Written for the screen by Alfredo Salazar, the film was a production of Cinematográfica Calderón and follows the account of a silver-plated revolver, which has a deadly curse and falls on the hands of different men.
The House of Silva is an ancient and influential aristocratic family of Spanish and Portuguese origin.
Madres egoístas is a Mexican telenovela produced by Juan Osorio for Televisa in 1991.
The House (Casa) de Silva Fernández de Híjar Portugal had its origin from the marriage ties of the house de Silva, with the house of Fernández de Ixar [from doña Isabel (1620-1700) descendant of don Pedro Fernández de Ixar (1245-1299), natural child of the king don Jaime I d'Aragon called "The Conqueror" and of doña Bereguela Fernández, granddaughter of don Alfonso IX de Leon, by matrilineal descent] and the House de Portugal [from doña Ana (1570-1629) (descendant from doña Isabel de Portugal natural child of don Fernando I of Borgogna king of Portugal]. Marriage ties which created one of the most ancient, important, and richest families of Spain and Portugal. A family which has given a great number of Grandes of Spain, viceroys, famous military figures, politicians, statesmen, clergymen, saints, scholars, artists, architects; to the kingdom first and to the Spanish Empire later, to nowadays.
Shrew's Nest is a 2014 horror thriller film directed by Juanfer Andrés and Esteban Roel, and starring Macarena Gómez, Nadia de Santiago, Hugo Silva and Luis Tosar. It earned three nominations to the 29th Goya Awards, including Gómez for Best Actress.
Hasta que la plata nos separe is a Colombian telenovela created and written by Fernando Gaitán, starring Victor Hugo Cabrera and Marcela Carvajal. It is produced and broadcast by RCN Televisión from May 22, 2006 to October 11, 2007.
The Cook of Castamar is a Spanish period drama television series adapting the novel of the same name by Fernando J. Muñez which stars Michelle Jenner and Roberto Enríquez. Set in early 18th-century Madrid, the plot follows the love story between an agoraphobic cook and a widowed nobleman. Produced by Buendía Estudios, it originally aired on Atresplayer Premium from February to May 2021.
The Battle of Hernani is the name given to the controversy and heckling that surrounded the 1830 performances of Victor Hugo's Romantic drama Hernani.