''Dalliance'' is a play by

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

, based on Arthur Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei''. ''Dalliance'' was first performed at the Lyttelton Theatre, London, on 27 May 1986. It was directed by Peter Wood, with music by Andre Previn. It starred Stephen Moore, Brenda Blethyn, Sally Dexter and

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London, 1974 L ...

. Dexter won the

Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play was an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End theatre, West ...

for her performance.

Plot summary

Fritz, who considers himself a man-about-town in 1890s

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, is despondent because a sophisticated, upper-class lady has ended their affair. Fritz's friend Theodore tries to cheer Fritz up by introducing him to Christine, a seamstress for the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, believing that a dalliance with a charming lower-class woman can take a man's mind off his troubles. Almost immediately after beginning a relationship with Christine, Fritz receives a challenge from the sophisticated lady's husband. Fritz knows he has little chance of surviving the

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

. In the few remaining days in his life, Fritz and Christine fall in love, and he recognises the superiority of a simple life of mutual love over the ''bon vivant'' life of an urban bachelor. Beyond the addition of Stoppardian wit in the adaptation, Stoppard's major change from the original is to shift the last scene from Christine's apartment to backstage at the opera. A comic opera with a similar plot is taking place on stage when Christine hears the news that Fritz has been killed in a duel.

Plot summary

References

Further reading