Cyrano de Bergerac (1897)

I love this play beyond the telling. It's one of the few single plays I own. The plays I keep on my shelves are complete plays of Shakespeare, Marlowe and Oscar Wilde, some Moliere, a collection of Spanish classics such as de Barca's La Vida Es Un Sueno and this--one of the few French plays that Americans are likely to see in production or film. Even Steve Martin did a modernized adaptation of it in Roxanne. The thing is that I do agree with the LibraryThing reviewer that counts Cyrano as not someone to admire, rather than the other reviewer on LibraryThing who saw this as a beautiful "unselfish" love. Indeed, Cyrano causes misery all around him because he's unselfish--or too cowardly--to woo his love in his own right. That's the tragedy. But, at least in the translation by Anthony Burgess, so much delights. The back cover says that what this translation has that so many lack is "panache." And yes, this is so witty and sparkling and funny for so much of its length--and poignant and heartbreaking. I have to count as great a playwright who can make me laugh and then cry within the same play. ( )

Most people know the basic premise of "Cyrano de Bergerac," even if they do not remember the story's ending. Yet what happens in Acts IV and V of the play is just as poignant and moving as the more memorable battle of wits at the beginning or balcony scene in the middle. "Cyrano" is proof of why the French have a reputation for romance; you would be hard-pressed to find a character in whom the lonely hearts of the world could find a greater catharsis. Take any other romantic love story you can think of, and what is it about, if not someone, with at least some selfishness involved, trying to gain for themselves that which they desire? Take this story, however, and you have a pure, sacrificial, giving love that denies itself for the sake of the other. Cyrano makes Romeo look positively juvenile and bland. Readers unaccustomed to reading drama may find the opening scenes daunting with their dated language, but press on; the romance of a lifetime awaits you. ( )

While the play is well written and features some very memorable scenes, I just can't bring myself to enjoy it. I don't see anything to be admired in Cyrano's character; he may have many talents both martial and societal, but at heart he is a weak man hiding behind extreme conceptions of honor. Not only does this weakness bring suffering on himself, but everyone around him. I don't appreciate when fiction extols harmful character traits as something to be emulated.I do however appreciate beautiful language and the poetic moments such as the balcony scene, so I can still give this work 3 stars. ( )

9518

One of my favorite plays. The Lowell Bair translation seems stilted and antiquated for my taste. Stick to the Burgess and Hooker translations. ( )