June Brunch - Cyrano de Bergerac (Edmond Rostand)

This month, we'll be reading Edmond Rostand's most famous play, Cyrano de Bergerac, which is loosely based on the short life of the eponymous 17th-century author. The play was an immediate hit when it premiered in 1897, was quickly translated and staged across the western world, and has remained a theatrical staple, as well as seeing numerous adaptations. As an interesting note, the play contributed the word "panache" to the English language.

Reviews:
Mr. Eugene [sic] Rostand is one of those young authors about whose futures it is impossible to make any definite prediction. He is enjoying an extraordinary vogue at the present moment; but whether he really has the mental ballast sufficient for an immortal career remains to be seen. His friends are comparing his with Victor Hugo, and certainly since "Ruy Blas" no five-act drama has had so tremendous and immediate a success as "Cyrano de Bergerac."

About the Author:
Edmond Rostand (1868-1918) was born in Marseilles, France, in 1868, the son of a distinguished and cultured family. The young Rostand was educated first in Marseilles, then in Paris, where he earned a degree in law. It was a profession, however, that he was never to practice. He made his literary debut in 1890 with a volume of lyric verse, and his first important play, The Romancers, was produced by the Comédie Francaise in 1894. In 1897, Cyrano de Bergerac won critical acclaim and spectacular popular success, and Rostand further solidified his position as the foremost of modern French romantic dramatists with L’Aiglon in 1900 and Chantecler in 1910.