Beaumarchais’s
La Folle Journée ou Le Mariage de Figaro, most commonly known as
Le Mariage de Figaro, is the author’s best-known and most successful play. It stands as a monument to the playwright’s talent and perseverance. Indeed, it has been described as “by far the most important dramatic work produced in France in the eighteenth century” (Howarth, 3).
Despite being written in 1778, it was first performed publicly at the Comédie-Française on 27 April 1784, and there were 68 performances during its initial run. Three years later, it had reached an unprecedented 100 performances, testimony to its immediate success. It is said that the first performance lasted five hours instead of the normal three and a half hours due to the persistent audience applause, an audience which had
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Citation: Treuherz, Nick. "Le Mariage de Figaro". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 November 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4077, accessed 24 November 2024.]
