''Le Roi Soleil'' is a French musical about the life of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

(played by

Emmanuel Moire Emmanuel Moire (born 16 June 1979 in Le Mans) is a French singer-songwriter, best known for portraying the role of Louis XIV in the French stage musical ''Le Roi Soleil''. Moire has released four albums '' (Là) où je pars'' (2006), '' L'Équi ...

). It premiered on 22 September 2005 at the Palais des Sports in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Plot

The play begins with the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...

against

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

. Young Louis is the consecrated King at Reims. But his power has been confiscated by his mother,

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 un ...

, and the Cardinal, who doubt his ability to rule France alone. Louis falls in love with

Marie Mancini Anna Maria (Marie) Mancini (28 August 1639 – 8 May 1715) was the third of the five Mancini sisters; nieces to Cardinal Mazarin who were brought to France to marry advantageously. Along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, the Mancin ...

, an Italian emigrant without noble birth, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. To prove himself as a man, the young monarch decides to leave for the war at the head of his armies, and though Marie has a worrying premonition she is unable to stop him. Louis falls in battle, victim to a serious disease, and for a long time is believed dead. The court forgets him and attempts to name his brother Philippe the new King of France. Marie, however, refuses to accept his fate and spends many nights by his bedside praying in tears. Then, in a sudden turn of events, one of the royal doctors administers a drug that wakes Louis from his sleep. He learns that he has been forgotten by everyone in the country except Marie and his own family. Now desperately in love with the beautiful Italian, Louis proposes to her. Marie reminds him that it is impossible for a French king to marry an Italian not of noble birth. Anne of Austria, Mazarin and even the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

would object. Louis stubbornly dismisses all opposition, declaring that he is King and will therefore decide his own future. Nevertheless, Anne of Austria and Mazarin put an end to the dream by banishing Marie into exile and persuading the young King to marry the Spanish princess. The first act ends with the pain of separation. The second Act begins with the death of Mazarin, upon which Louis seizes power and becomes the Sun King. He loses himself in the arms of many women, forgetting that his people will pay heavy taxes for the construction of an excessive dream - the

Château de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed ...

. After many events such as the matter of the

Man in the Iron Mask The Man in the Iron Mask (French ; died 19 November 1703) was an unidentified prisoner of state during the reign of King Louis XIV of France (1643–1715). Warranted for arrest on 28 July 1669 under the pseudonym of "Eustache Dauger", he wa ...

and the

Poison Affair Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

, Louis attains what he could not achieve with Marie Mancini. He marries, despite opposition,

Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon Françoise d'Aubigné (27 November 1635 – 15 April 1719), known first as Madame Scarron and subsequently as Madame de Maintenon (), was a French noblewoman who secretly married King Louis XIV. Although she was never considered queen of France ...

, a woman without noble birth who was the governess of his illegitimate children with Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. The final performances of this play were on 6–8 July 2007 in Paris.

Cast

. *

: Anne-Laure Girbal. * Monsieur, the King's brother:

Christophe Maé Christophe Martichon (; born 16 October 1975), better known by his stage name Christophe Maé (), is a French pop singer. Career Maé learned to play the violin at age five, and later began playing the guitar and harmonica at age 16 after he ...

. * Françoise d'Aubigné: Cathialine Andria. * The Duc de Beaufort: Merwan Rim. *Isabelle, the representative of the people: Victoria Petrosillo. *

Madame de Montespan Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

: Lysa Ansaldi. *

: Jack Morgan. *

: Marie Lenoir.

Songs

;Acte I 1 Prélude versaillais - instrumental
2 Contre ceux d'en haut - M. Rim feat. V. Petrosillo
3 Qu'avons-nous fait de vous ? - V. Petrosillo feat. M. Rim
4 Je serai lui - C. Andria
5 Être à la hauteur - E. Moire
6 Ça marche - C. Maé
7 Où ça mène quand on s'aime - A.-L. Girbal, E. Moire
8 Encore du temps - V. Petrosillo, A.-L. Girbal
9 Requien Aeternam - V. Petrosillo, M. Rim, A.-L. Girbal
10 A qui la faute - C. Maé
11 Je fais de toi mon essentiel - E. Moire feat. A.-L. Girbal
12 S'aimer est interdit - A.-L. Girbal, E. Moire
;Acte 2 1 Repartir - M. Rim, V. Petrosillo, C. Andria
2 Le ballet des planètes - instrumental
3 Pour arriver à moi - E. Moire
4 Un geste de vous - L. Ansaldi, C. Maé feat. E.Moire
5 Le bal des monstres - instrumental
6 Entre ciel et terre - M. Rim, V. Petrosillo
7 Alors d'accord - C. Andria with child
8 J'en appelle - L. Ansaldi
9 L'arrestation - instrumental
10 Personne n'est personne - V. Petrosillo, C. Andria
11 Et vice Versailles - C. Maé feat. E. Moire
12 La vie passe - E. Moire, C. Andria
13 Tant qu'on rêve encore - The entire cast

International productions

Japan

Presented by the all-female

Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, manga, and Japa ...

, the production was performed by Star Troupe, starring

Reon Yuzuki is a Japanese actress and former Top Star ''otokoyaku'' (an actress who plays male roles) of the Japanese Takarazuka Revue's Star Troupe. She joined the revue in 1999 and became the top star in 2009. She resigned from the Takarazuka Revue in May ...

as Louis XIV. The musical ran from 17 May to 2 June 2014 at Tokyu Theatre Orb in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

References

External links

Official Site of ''Le Roi Soleil''
(Not available anymore)
Photos of play
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roi Soleil, Le Theatre in Paris 2005 musicals Works about Louis XIV French musicals Cultural depictions of Cardinal Mazarin