Phegrave;dre (originally Phegrave;dre et Hippolyte) is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine; first performed in 1677. With Phegrave;dre; Racine chose once more a subject from Greek mythology; already treated by Greek and Roman tragic poets; notably by Euripides in Hippolytus and Seneca in Phaedra. In the absence of her royal husband Theacute;seacute;e; Phegrave;dre ends by declaring her love to Hippolyte; Theacute;seacute;ersquo;s son from a previous marriage. As a result of an intrigue by the Duchess of Bouillon and other friends of the aging Pierre Corneille; the play was not a success at its premiegrave;re on 1 January 1677 at the Hocirc;tel de Bourgogne; home of the royal troupe of actors in Paris. Indeed; a rival group staged a play by the now forgotten playwright Nicolas Pradon on an almost identical theme. After Phegrave;dre; Racine ceased writing plays on secular themes and devoted himself to the service of religion and the king until 1689; when he was commissioned to write Esther by Madame de Maintenon; the morganatic second wife of Louis XIV.
#2507473 in eBooks 2004-02-01 2004-02-01File Name: B0166UNTB4
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