''Tite et Bérénice'' is a heroic comedy by the 17th-century French playwright

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage ...

. It was premiered on 28 November 1670 by the

troupe of Molière Troupe may refer to: General *Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers **Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers *Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games *Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers ...

at the Palais Royal Theater in Paris, in the same month as the more famous tragedy on the same theme written by Corneille's rival

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...

, ''

Bérénice ''Berenice'' () is a five-act tragedy by the French 17th-century playwright Jean Racine. ''Berenice'' was not played often between the 17th and the 20th centuries. It was premiered on 21 November 1670 by the Comédiens du Roi at the Hôtel de ...

'', which was produced by the Comédiens du Roi at the Hôtel de Bourgogne on 21 November.Garreau, "Jean Racine" in Hochman 1984, vol. 4, p. 194. It revolves around the situation of the Roman general

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

, who brought

Berenice of Cilicia Berenice of Cilicia, also known as Julia Berenice and sometimes spelled Bernice (, ''Bereníkē'' or ''Berníkē''; 28 – after 81), was a Jewish client queen of the Roman Empire during the second half of the 1st century. Berenice was a memb ...

, the sister of

Herod Agrippa Herod Agrippa I ( Roman name: Marcus Julius Agrippa; ), also simply known as Herod Agrippa, Agrippa I, () or Agrippa the Great, was the last king of Judea. He was a grandson of Herod the Great and the father of Herod Agrippa II, the last known k ...

, back to Rome with him from the sack of Jerusalem in 70 CE. It was understood that she would become his wife, but when he became emperor the following year, he felt forced to renounce her and send her back home. The tragic situation is played out in the competing demands of love and duty.

References

* Hochman, Stanley, editor (1984). ''McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama'' (second edition, 5 volumes). New York: McGraw-Hill. . 1670 plays Plays by Pierre Corneille Roman Empire in art and culture Cultural depictions of Titus {{17thC-play-stub