Edmond Rostand facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edmond Rostand
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Rostand in the uniform of the Académie française, 1905
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| Born | Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand 1 April 1868 Marseille, France |
| Died | 2 December 1918 (aged 50) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Poet, playwright |
| Literary movement | Neo-romanticism |
| Spouse | Rosemonde Gérard |
| Children | Jean Rostand Maurice Rostand |
Edmond Rostand (born April 1, 1868 – died December 2, 1918) was a famous French poet and playwright. He is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac, which he wrote in 1897. Rostand's plays were full of romance and adventure. This was different from the more realistic plays popular at the time. Another of his plays, Les Romanesques (1894), later became the musical The Fantasticks in 1960.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Edmond Rostand was born in Marseille, France. He came from a wealthy and artistic family. His father was a poet and an economist.
Edmond studied literature, history, and philosophy. He went to the Collège Stanislas in Paris, France.
Becoming a Playwright
Rostand wrote his first play, a short comedy called Le Gant rouge, when he was twenty. It was performed in 1888 but didn't get much attention.
In 1890, he published a book of poems called Les Musardises. The same year, he wrote a one-act play in verse. This led to him writing a three-act play, also in verse, for a state theater. All of Rostand's plays were written as poems. He saw himself as a poet, whether writing plays or poetry.
First Big Success: Les Romanesques
His play Les Romanesques was performed in 1894. It was a huge success and launched his career as a playwright. This play was later turned into the popular American musical The Fantasticks in 1960.
Plays for Sarah Bernhardt
Rostand then wrote a play for the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt. It was called La Princesse Lointaine (The Faraway Princess). This play was about a 12th-century poet who fell in love with a princess he had never met. It opened in 1895 but wasn't a big hit.
Bernhardt still wanted Rostand to write for her. She starred in his next play, La Samaritaine (The Woman of Samaria), in 1897. This was a religious play based on a Bible story. It was more successful and became a regular part of Sarah Bernhardt's shows. Rostand felt proud that he had shown he could write more than just comedies.
Cyrano de Bergerac
Rostand's most famous play is Cyrano de Bergerac. It was a heroic comedy that opened in 1897. The first show was a huge triumph! It ran for over 300 nights in a row. People hadn't been this excited about a play in verse since the time of Victor Hugo.
The play was quickly translated into many languages, including English and German. Cyrano de Bergerac was a hero from Rostand's childhood. Rostand loved Cyrano's courage and idealism. He also did a lot of research into French history from the 1600s for the play.
L'Aiglon
Rostand wrote another play for Sarah Bernhardt called L'Aiglon. It was performed during the World's Fair in Paris in 1900. The play was about a patriotic subject from Napoleon's history. It told the sad story of the Duke of Reichstadt, Napoleon I's son. Sarah Bernhardt played the Duke herself.
Later Works and Recognition
In 1901, Rostand became the youngest writer ever to be chosen for the Académie française. This is a very important French institution that protects the French language.
He moved to Cambo-les-Bains in the Pyrenees mountains in 1903 because of his health. There, he built a beautiful house called Arnaga, which is now a museum. He worked on his next play, Chantecler, there.
Chantecler was performed in 1910. It was a unique play where all the characters are birds and animals. The main character, Chantecler, is a rooster. This play showed Rostand's deepest feelings as a poet.
Rostand was still writing plays when he died. His play "La Dernière Nuit de Don Juan" was performed after his death in 1922. He also had two unfinished plays.
Personal Life
Edmond Rostand was married to Rosemonde Gérard, who was also a poet and playwright. They had two sons, Jean and Maurice.
In the 1900s, Rostand lived in the Villa Arnaga in Cambo-les-Bains, France. He moved there to help with his lung illness. His house is now a museum about his life and the local Basque culture.
Edmond Rostand died in 1918. He was a victim of the flu pandemic that spread across the world. He is buried in the Cimetière de Marseille.
Works by Edmond Rostand
- Le Gant rouge (The Red Glove), 1888
- Les Musardises, 1890
- Les Deux Pierrots, ou Le Souper blanc (The Two Pierrots, or The White Supper), 1891
- Les Romanesques (The Romancers), 1894 (This play became the musical The Fantasticks)
- La Princesse Lointaine (The Princess Far-Away), 1895
- La Samaritaine (The Woman of Samaria), 1897
- Cyrano de Bergerac, 1897
- L'Aiglon: A Play in Six Acts, 1900
- Chantecler: A Play in Four Acts, 1910
- La Dernière Nuit de Don Juan (The Last Night of Don Juan), 1921 (performed after his death)
- Le Cantique de L'Aile, 1922
- Le Vol de la Marseillaise, 1922
See also
- Ary Bitter
