Customer Reviews

Cyrano De Bergerac

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been around theater for quite a while, and I was lucky enough to be in this play twice, once as Cyrano. I've done Shakespeare, O'Neill, Chekhov...and I've never been in a play that comes close to this in terms of dramatic force.

The fashion in French theater at the time it was written was simple domestic drama: husbands and wives and their various conflicts. This play exploded on the scene and there was extremely strong public reaction. (I think there may even have been riots.)

For modern American audiences, I must confess, it's a pretty long haul. Even with some judicious cutting, it's tough to get the thing down close to three hours. But what a ride! Poetry, fight scenes, comedy, tears...it's just incredible.

In all the plays I've done, I've never done one that comes so close to, literally, the meaning of life. Why are we here? What makes human beings act the way they do? Why do people try things that are clearly impossible? It's all in there.

I knew someone in college who gave this paperback edition to everyone he knew as a gift, because it spoke so strongly to him.

Looking back on it now, I'm amazed that I was able to memorize all the text, because I'm convinced that this is the longest role in Western theater...longer than Hamlet, I think.

Hooker's translation has been called the greatest translation of poetry ever, and while I'm not a poetry student, I can agree. Squishing the 6-foot French lines into 5-foot English lines and still retaining the dramatic flow must have been a daunting task.

Anyway, it's the greatest play I have ever seen, read or performed.

I love this play! It has wit, comedy, adventure, danger and intellectual swordplay. But most importantly, it has a character(Cyrano) who values his life and principles above all else. Read it now! Also, if you enjoyed Cyrano as much as I did, check out "The Lost Sonnets of Cyrano de Bergerac" by James Carcioppolo. I read it hoping for more of Cyrano's spirit and love of life; I was not disapointed!

Cyrano de Bergerac by Rostand is my favourite play. The French original is a gem in almost every respect. It is wonderfully well written in Alexandrine (a difficult form of verse). Rostand's romantic masterpiece shines not only as a play, but as poetry.

This particular translation (unattributed) is pedestrian. It is accurate, but tin-eared. It is not the Brian Hooker translation. I state that because I wound up buying it in the belief that it was the Hooker translation and was consequently much disappointed.

For any literary work originally written in another language (this, Don Quixote, All Quiet on the Western Front), it is important to pay attention to who is responsible for the translation. Some translators are awful. Some are mediocre (such as whoever did this one). And some are wonderful (Brian Hooker).

For those who are not as enamored of Brian Hooker's work as I am, the Anthony Burgess translation is also quite good.

Caveat Emptor.

Cyrano is, and has been for many years, my favorite play. I've read two translations and am planning to read a third soon. In Cyrano, Rostand has created a character I and many others can empathize with. If you're reading Cyrano for the first time, I would reccommend Bair's translation, as it has been rendered into more modern English. However, Hooker's translation often captures the beauty and poetry of the language, whereas Bair is more prosaic. I highly reccommend reading this book, and if you can see it performed somewhere, you're in for a real treat. "Philosopher, scientist, poet, swordsman, musician, aerial traveler, maker of sharp retorts, and lover. . ." I hope that you enjoy making Cyrano's acquaintance as much as I have!

Lowell Bair's translation of "Cyrano de Bergerac" is done by discrding the rhyme and meter of the original for a simpler prose translation. Even the duel ballade of Act I and the Gascon Cadets' introductory triolet are reworked into blank verse. Bair makes the play accessible and provides a fresh, delightful version. My only criticism is that he has thrown out the baby with the bathwater, diluting the poetry of the original in the process. Still, most readers will find it an enjoyable read, and Cyrano scholars like myself will appreciate the usefulness of his approach.

This play is a wonderful work but I ended up originally buying a copy translated by Lowell Bair that was just awful.
The movie starring Jose Ferrer (academy award best actor 1950) used the Brian Hooker translation that preserved the poetry and impact of the original French. You will not be disappointed if purchase the Hooker Translation.

The scene that has made Edmond Rostand's verse drama in five acts, "Cyrano De Bergerac," a classic drama is the balcony scene, where Cyrano is feeding the inarticulate Christian the lines with which to woo the lovely Roxanne. Finally Cyrano pretends to be Christian and speaks to Roxanne directly, while hiding in the shadows. Cyrano loves Roxanne as well, but would never dare to speak to her in his own name, and the great irony is that he knows his words have won her heart, but for another man.

The scene resonates because the vast majority of young men have experienced the pangs of love for a woman who would not give them the time of day. The reason for such slights might not be a large nose, but as long as it is something that is beyond our control, we can feel an affinity with Cyrano. What makes his plight more tragic than our own is because he is both witty and romantic, using words like a rapier to best his enemies one moment and then uttering verbal bouquets that would surely win the heart of any maiden at whom they were directed. Still, the Fates conspire against Cyrano, for when Christian finally realizes that it is Cyrano's words that have won Roxane's heart for him and tries to make things right, the young man's death cements the parts they have chosen to play in this tragic love triangle. After the paradigmatic love triangle of Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot, that of Christian, Roxane, and Cyrano must rank second.

Yet in the end I find that the tragedy of "Cyrano de Bergerac" is not his alone, for there is a sense in which Roxanne's loss is even greater. For me, the key line in the play belongs to her, when in the final scene Cyrano is finally allowed to read the last letter that Christian wrote to his beloved, a letter written by Cyrano himself. The words are burned into his soul and it is when she realizes that it is too dark for him to read the words and he is reciting them, that the truth becomes clear to her. "I never loved but one man in my life," she laments, "and I have lost him twice." There is something to be said for a play that can be accurately reduced to a single line. Furthermore, in terms of romantic tragedy, the emotional impact of the ending is comparable to Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet," a comparison already warranted by the fact the plays have the two most famous balcony scenes in drama.

Rostand wrote "Cyrano" for the great French actor, Constant Coquelin, who specifically requested the final death scene. The play premiered on December 28, 1897, at the Théātre de la Porte Saint-Martin, Paris. The fact "Cyrano" was effectively commissioned for a particular actor might explain why the playwright was able to take the French soldier, satirist, and dramatist, whose life had been the basis of many romantic but unsubstantiated legends into the central character of his drama. The historical Cyrano (1619-1655) is of interest for writing some of the first works of what we would consider science fiction, "Voyage dans la lune" (1657) and "L'historie des etats et empires du soleil" (1662). He was also considered a student of Pierre Gassendi, the writer of philosophical romances and a virile lover, so Rostand's characterization is rather suspect. But it is also one of the most memorable creation of 19th-century drama (along with Henrik Ibsen's Clara from "A Doll's House").

"Cyrano de Bergerac" represents one of the final examples of Romantic drama in France, but ironically the heroic comedy is the best known of all such works today. The only other one of Rostand's plays that has proven to be of interest is "L'Aiglon" ("The Eaglet"), a 1900 tragedy is six acts that tells the story of the Duke of Reichstadt, the son of Napoleon, who lived and died the virtual prisoner of Austria (Sarah Bernhardt played the title run in the first production). But clearly it is "Cyrano" that has made Rostand's name almost as memorable as that of his great dramatic creation.

My rating is for the play; I've only glanced at the English translation. I'm not too sure if this play should really be called "An heroic comedy", I find it more to be a tragedy. A play of tragic unrequited love, sacrifice, courage and charm, with some amusing moments, for instance when members of the aristocracy and others are made to look foolish compared to the wit and heart of Cyrano, or the scene where Christian and Cyrano meet for the first time.
Cyrano was a real French poet of the 17th century. A bit of knowledge about his time helps to appreciate the play...for instance, one of the reasons why Christian feels unable to speak to Roxanne with his own words is because she was part of that fashionable trend amongst certain ladies of society called "les precieuses" (ridiculed by Moliere) characterized by an overblown admiration of fancy talk, excessive romantic sensibility, and intellectual posturing. Christian, a man of perhaps more basic passions and few words with women, but in no way a dummy (see his wit when meeting Cyrano), rightly felt inhibited before the precious Roxanne.
"Cyrano" was written at the end of the 19th century, is neo-romantic in style and one of the last French plays to be written in verse rather than prose. The charming, witty and poetic ryhme of its verse, which fully develops each of the characters in keeping with the play's romantic theme, is what makes it so wonderful. It is like a poem. In translation the play therefore loses much of its grace and beauty.
The play has been filmed a few times. Skip the Steve Martin "Roxanne" movie (very loosely based on the play) and see the real thing: "Cyrano de Bergerac" directed by J.P. Rappeneau with G. Depardieu in the leading role. Both the film and Depardieu are absolutely fantastic and very true to the play. The lines in the film follow (excepting one or two pages) the original lines of the play.

This is a wonderful play with many references to French culture. I read this book for my literature class, and I thought it was a very good assignment. In the beginning, the play is difficult to understand because the book is a play within a play. Don't be discouraged, after the first act you will have a very clear picture of the setting. Cyrano is introduced gradually, but dramatically. He is an amazing character because he is a strong soldier, but a hopeless romantic. For those readers who love poetry, this is the book for you. There are many descriptive lines that are beautifully crafted. Rostand recreates the feeling of love through his words. Along with being romantic, it is also comical. Rostand adds some light-hearted comedy to try to soften some of the disappointment the reader faces. When I say disappointment, I mean what we expect to happen doesn't. I don't want to give away the plot, but in general, if you are into adventure and romance with a comical twist, you should read this play.

As a teenager nearly 30 years ago, I first heard of Cyrano when a fellow public-speaking student did a hilarious presentation using the famous speech in which Cyrano lists dozens of different (and better) ways in which a clumsy opponent COULD have insulted Cyrano's big nose. Delighted with the verbal swordplay, I went to the public library and borrowed the book in English. Then I discovered it was also (!) available in French. I promptly fell in love with the French version, "feeling" the meaning of the words as much as I was understanding them with my third-year French language capacity. I would have to agree--it is as much a masterpiece in the second language as it is in the first. I've seen the French movie with Gerard Depardieu in the title role, but I would love to see it performed in English on stage someday.