Customer Reviews

Cyrano de Bergerac (Signet Classic)

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I am a HUGE Cyrano de Bergerac fan. To do proper justice to this statement, I would have to honestly have to say I have had almost a twenty year "love affair" with Cyrano. (No offense to my wife! LOL.)

This play is absolutely fantastic. I have never read this particular translation before today when I received it in the mail but I must say that I was quite impressed. I admit that I am used to seeing "panache'" rather than "white plume" but it's something I could get used to.

Cyrano is a man with a HUGE nose and the skill of wit and steel to back up any one who may dare attack his precious nose. The truth is that for all of his ferocity, he is really quite self-conscious and can never believe that anyone could ever love him. Thus the tragedy of our hero is that he is his own worst enemy. A poet, a warrior, a scientist, a hopeless romantic and though he would do anything for his secret beloved Roxanne, he leads a solitary lonely existence even as he faces death.

I know there are those who might say that this is not so. Was not Roxanne there when he died? Yes, but did he allow himself to be comforted and be held as he breathed out his last? No. He had to get up and look death right in the eyes as it were for one last battle. Facing his old enemies as he put it.

Cyrano de Bergerac is an absolutely amazing play with so much soul, so much wit, so much humanity, in short, so much NOSE that one would lose out NOT to read it. I feel I would be diminished had I never come across this play.

Now, the Christmas present in this particular edition! It comes with a FREE DVD version by the Chamberlain Brothers of Jose Ferrer's Oscar winning 1950 performance of Cyrano de Bergerac. I could not believe my eyes when I opened the package today! I believe there are some of this available from individual sellers. If the price is right, I would recommend it. If you are only interested in the Signet Classics play, Amazon has that to. Lowell Blair is the translator of this edition that I'm reviewing.

This play by Edmund Rostand was immediately deemed a failure by the playwright before the curtain went up. But he was unprepared for the public's reaction to his latest creation. Now, the play that made Rostand an overnight sensation in France is available with the original film version starring Jose Ferrer in the title role. Several years prior, he had played Cyrano on Broadway, winning a Tony. To this day, he remains the only actor to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe AND a Tony for the same role. I highly recommend this for English classes. The film is Not Rated.

The item was received in good time and was as described. I am very satisfied with this purchase