Lorenzaccio is a French play

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 of the Romantic period written by Alfred de Musset

Alfred de Musset

Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.Along with his poetry, he is known for writing La Confession d'un enfant du siècle from 1836.-Biography:Musset was born on 11 December 1810 in Paris...

 in 1834, set in 16th-century Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, and depicting Lorenzino de' Medici

Lorenzino de' Medici

Lorenzino de' Medici , sometimes called Lorenzaccio de' Medici, was an Italian writer remembered primarily as the assassin of Alessandro de' Medici, duke and ruler of Florence.-Biography:...

, who killed Florence's tyrant, Alessandro de' Medici

Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence

Alessandro de' Medici called "il Moro" , Duke of Penne and also Duke of Florence , ruler of Florence from 1530 until 1537...

, his cousin. Having engaged in debaucheries to gain the Duke's confidence, he loses the trust of Florence's citizens, thus earning the insulting surname "Lorenzaccio". Though he kills Alessandro, he knows he will never return to his former state. Since opponents to the tyrant's regime fail to use Alessandro's death as a way to overthrow the dukedom and establish a republic, Lorenzo's action does not appear to aid the people's welfare. Written soon after the July revolution of 1830, at the start of the July Monarchy

July Monarchy

The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...

, when King Louis Philippe I overthrew King Charles X of France

Charles X of France

Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...

, the play contains many cynical comments on the lack of true republican sentiments in the face of violent overthrow. The play was inspired by George Sand

George Sand

Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...

's Une conspiration en 1537, in turn inspired by Varchi's chronicles. As much of Romantic tragedy, including plays by Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo

Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....

, it was influenced by William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

's Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

.

Summary

Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, aided by Lorenzo de' Medici, takes away a girl under her brother's nose. He wishes to complain to the duke, but it is the duke who is taking her away. In Lorenzaccio's palace, his uncle Bindo Altoviti and Venturi, a gentleman, wish to know from Lorenzaccio whether he will join their conspiracy against the duke. But when the duke, as suggested by his cousin, offers them a promotion and privileges, despite their republican talk, they immediately accept. Alessandro serves as model for a portrait, when Lorenzaccio takes his coat of mail and throws it in a well. One of the duke's men, Salviati, covered in blood, appears, saying that Pietro Strozzi and his brother, Tomaso, attacked him. The duke orders their arrest, so that the Strozzi family are up in arms to free them. Lorenzaccio proposes to his cousin his bedroom to seduce Catherine, his aunt, which is actually a plot to kill him. Meanwhile, Pietri and Tomaso are freed and learn of their sister's death by poison at the hands of Salviati's servant. The cardinal of Cibo scolds his sister-in-law for not being able to hold her lover for more than three days. Unheeding his appeal to return to him, she reveals to her husband her adultery with the duke. The night he proposes to kill his cousin, Lorenzaccio warns noblemen to prepare for revolt, but none of them believe he'll do it. The cardinal warns the duke of Lorenzaccio, but he dismisses his warnings and follows his cousin to his bedroom, where Lorenzaccio kills him. Cosimo de' Medici

Cosimo de' Medici

Còsimo di Giovanni degli Mèdici was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance; also known as "Cosimo 'the Elder'" and "Cosimo Pater Patriae" .-Biography:Born in Florence, Cosimo inherited both his wealth and his expertise in...

 is elected as the new duke. With the duke dead, the Strozzi conspiracy does not achieve anything, nor are republican sentiments heard of, except for some massacred students. Lorenzaccio is assassinated and the cardinal gives the ducal crown to Cosimo de Medici on behalf of Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...

 and Emperor Charles V.

Performances

The play was published in the spirit of a closet drama, intended to be read rather than staged, because of its complexity, length, numerous characters and changes in scenery, so that no production of the play took place during Musset's lifetime. However, it has been staged since, notably with Gérard Philippe in the title role in the 1950s in Paris, a production which reached Broadway in the French version presented by the Theatre National Populaire and directed by Jean Vilar

Jean Vilar

Jean Vilar was a French man of the theatre, who created in 1947 the Avignon theatre festival.After he gave up his literature studies, in 1932 he followed in Paris a course of philosophy of Alain and the theatre courses of Charles Dullin...

in 1958 for 7 performances.