The Romancers A Comedy in Three Acts

Excerpt

Edmond Rostand was born at Marseilles in 1868.  Rostand is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant dramatic poets of modern times.  “Les Romanesques”—­“The Romancers”—­was performed for the first time in Paris, at the Comedie Francaise, in 1894, and achieved considerable success.  Its delicacy and charm revealed the true poet, and the deftness with which the plot was handled left little doubt as to the author’s ability to construct an interesting and moving drama.  But not until the production of “Cyrano de Bergerac” in 1897 did Rostand become known to the world at large.  “L’Aiglon” (1900) was something of a disappointment after the brilliant “Cyrano.”  Ten years later came “Chantecler,” the poet’s deepest and in many ways most masterly play.