Apollo of Bellac
Encyclopedia
The Apollo of Bellac is a comedic one act play written in 1942 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux
.
. Like Giraudoux himself, the man comes from the Limousin
region of France.
The secret he gives her is to tell all men that they are handsome ("How handsome you are!" or "Comme vous êtes beau!") and they will play right into your hands. She quickly catches on and the men of the Bureau fall for her left and right. In the Valency translation, it ends with her meeting the handsome (and single) Chairman of the Board, and everyone wondering what has happened to the great man (the homeless inventor) who quietly slipped away.
, in Jean Giraudoux, Four Plays, vol. 1 (1958), and 1957 by Ronald Duncan
.
The Apollo of Bellac was first performed as L'Apollon de Marsac on 16 June 1942 at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro.
The first performance in Paris was on 19 April 1947 at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in a production by Louis Jouvet
. Cast at the Paris premiere included Dominique Blanchar, as Agnes; Lucienne Bogaert
, as Therese; Louis Jouvet
, as "The Man from Bellac"; and Jacques Monod
, as Mr Cracheton.
In 1955, in Tony Richardson
's directing début, the play was produced for Television
with Denholm Elliott
and Natasha Parry in the main roles.
Jean Giraudoux
Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
.
Plot summary
The play is set in the reception room of the International Bureau of Inventions, during autumn in Paris. It focuses on a timid, young woman by the name of Agnes. After she arrives, she is given the most powerful secret in life by a homeless man from the little town of BellacBellac
Bellac is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.Inhabitants are known as Bellachons.This is where the French Jean Giraudoux, writer of L'Apollon de Bellac, was born in 1882...
. Like Giraudoux himself, the man comes from the Limousin
Limousin (région)
Limousin is one of the 27 regions of France. It is composed of three départements: Corrèze, Creuse and the Haute-Vienne.Situated largely in the Massif Central, as of January 1st 2008, the Limousin comprised 740,743 inhabitants on nearly 17 000 km2, making it the second least populated region of...
region of France.
The secret he gives her is to tell all men that they are handsome ("How handsome you are!" or "Comme vous êtes beau!") and they will play right into your hands. She quickly catches on and the men of the Bureau fall for her left and right. In the Valency translation, it ends with her meeting the handsome (and single) Chairman of the Board, and everyone wondering what has happened to the great man (the homeless inventor) who quietly slipped away.
Cast and productions
L'Apollon de Bellac was translated into English by Maurice ValencyMaurice Valency
Maurice Valency was a playwright, author, critic, and popular professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University, best known for his award winning adaptations of plays by Jean Giraudoux and Friedrich Duerrenmatt. He wrote several original plays, but is best known for his adaptations of...
, in Jean Giraudoux, Four Plays, vol. 1 (1958), and 1957 by Ronald Duncan
Ronald Duncan
Ronald Duncan was a writer, poet and playwright, now best known for preparing the libretto for Benjamin Britten's opera The Rape of Lucretia, first performed in 1946....
.
The Apollo of Bellac was first performed as L'Apollon de Marsac on 16 June 1942 at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro.
The first performance in Paris was on 19 April 1947 at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in a production by Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet was a renowned French actor, director, and theatre director.- Life :Overcoming speech impediments and sometimes paralyzing stage fright as a young man, Jouvet's first important association was with Jacques Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, beginning in 1913...
. Cast at the Paris premiere included Dominique Blanchar, as Agnes; Lucienne Bogaert
Lucienne Bogaert
Lucienne Bogaert, was a French actress...
, as Therese; Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet was a renowned French actor, director, and theatre director.- Life :Overcoming speech impediments and sometimes paralyzing stage fright as a young man, Jouvet's first important association was with Jacques Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, beginning in 1913...
, as "The Man from Bellac"; and Jacques Monod
Jacques Monod
Jacques Lucien Monod was a French biologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1965, sharing it with François Jacob and Andre Lwoff "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis"...
, as Mr Cracheton.
In 1955, in Tony Richardson
Tony Richardson
Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson was an English theatre and film director and producer.-Early life:Richardson was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1928, the son of Elsie Evans and Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist...
's directing début, the play was produced for Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
with Denholm Elliott
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
and Natasha Parry in the main roles.