''Les Burgraves'' is a historical play by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, first performed by the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

on 7 March 1843. It takes place along the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and features the return of

Emperor Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...

. The play failed commercially and was the last of Hugo's plays to be produced in his lifetime. It was the subject of an orchestral overture by the composer Guillaume Lekeu in 1890. The play is associated thematically with Hugo's '' Le Rhin'', an essayistic book about the Rhine; both were inspired by a trip along the river Hugo took with

Juliette Drouet Juliette Drouet, born Julienne Josephine Gauvain (10 April 1806 – 11 May 1883), was a French actress. She abandoned her career on the stage after becoming the mistress of Victor Hugo, to whom she acted as a secretary and travelling companion. ...

. ''Les Burgraves'' was published with a preface indicating that its depiction of a united Germany was part of a larger vision of a united Europe in which France would play a central role.

References

External links

* 1843 plays Plays by Victor Hugo Plays set in the 12th century Plays set in Germany Cultural depictions of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor {{1840s-play-stub