''The Pleasures of the Enchanted Island'' (French: ''Les Plaisirs de l’Île enchantée'') was a multi-day performance presented from 7 to 13 May 1664 to the court of

King Louis XIV of France , 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 Ve ...

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, ...

.Kathleen Wine (2002), "''Plaisirs de l'Isle enchantée, Les''", pp. 371–373, in ''The Molière Encyclopedia'', edited by James F. Gaines. Westport, Connecticut/London: Greenwood Press. . At the king's request, it was organized by the

Duke of Saint-Aignan Duke of Saint-Aignan ( Fr.: ''duc de Saint-Aignan'') was a title of nobility in the peerage of France created by Louis XIV of France for François de Beauvilliers in 1663. It takes its name from Beauvilliers' hometown of Saint-Aignan (which is c ...

, who took the title from a popular episode in cantos 6–8 and 10 of the 1516 Italian epic '' Orlando furioso'' by Ludovico Ariosto, in which the knight Ruggiero (in French, Roger) becomes a prisoner of love at the sorceress Alcina's court. It was staged to celebrate the beginning of the building campaigns for the

Chateau 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, u ...

with the intention to acquaint those involved in its construction—the King's wife, mother, lovers, mistresses, and family in general—with cotillon style ball and overall culture. In addition, there were about 600 invited guests.

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

played a large role in the organisation of festivities, which featured the premières of ''La Princesse d'Élide'' and ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...

''.

References

External links

''Les Plaisirs de l'îsle enchantée''
at Gallica {{DEFAULTSORT:Plaisirs de l'Ile enchantee Ancien Régime Versailles