When was a florentine tragedy written

As the evening builds towards its fatal climax, all three characters are strangely aware of how they stand, even while they vainly hope the others have still not realised. Becca Marriott's Bianca exuded sultry appeal towards Bardi, while interacting with her husband with a dumb blankness and silent fury which pointed to the desperate hole at the heart of their marriage: two people bored with each other to the point of disgust.

Simone fails to see, repeatedly, what on earth Bardi finds attractive about Bianca; and part of this story is how the advent of Bardi provokes Simone and Bianca into appreciating one another afresh. Our privacy policy was last updated on Friday 31 January View it here Dismiss.

Reviews All reviews Concert reviews Opera reviews Dance reviews. Events Reviews Articles Video. Lust, silk and strangulation: Zemlinsky's A Florentine Tragedy. By Charlotte Valori , 08 August When the reading takes over twenty-five hours, this means the middle of the night. However, this is not unadulterated Wilde, as the fragment is prefaced by an opening by the Edwardian poet Thomas Sturge Moore.

Moore sets the scene of a philandering nobleman Guido Bardi, who is enjoying a dalliance with Bianca, the wife of a wealthy textile merchant, Simone.

This is sixteenth century Florence, where this sort of thing goes on. We opening in typical Edwardian parlour-play manner with the maid giving the back story, with the added twist that the maid, Maria, has set up the tryst. Enter said Lord, offering , crowns for what he wants, but it is not silver damask.

Bianca of course knows what Prince Guido wants and is only too willing to provide it. One wonders, though, if this is the direction in which Wilde had set out the play. Maybe Wilde had in mind a more nuanced part in the plot for Bianca.

Deb McDowell conveys this ambiguity in Bianca with some finesse and we see that her Bianca is overly flattered by the advances of a Prince, and over conciliatory with her husband. Charles Halford gives us a Simone who is initially matter of fact and a bit bluff. He slowly perhaps a little too slowly gets up steam towards the violent end. Here is a Simone who will not wear the horns of the cuckold. The show really belongs to Peter Hill as the silver-tongued seducer Guido Bardi.

Hill is clearly relishing the flowery words of the unctuous prince. Through his flattering lines, we catch a glimpse of the true dissimulating nature of Guido. The soaring poetry of and especially the sex and violence with only the latter fulfilled in this fragment opens itself up to be the inspiration for an opera. And indeed, at least three have come to fruition by various composers, the best know of whom is Sergei Prokofiev.

Which is kinda weird I know! Oct 10, Ishmeet Singh rated it liked it. The play revolves around the theme of class struggle, desire and self-image. Didn't find it at par with Oscar's other plays, maybe becouse it's incomplete? Also the role of Bianca at the end confuses me.

If anybody wants to explain it please do. Jul 14, Dane Cobain rated it really liked it. Sep 01, Carla rated it liked it. I love the plays of Oscar Wilde. His ability to write compellingly about the societal issues of the time utilizing brilliant and often witty dialogue draws me in every time. A Florentine Tragedy is a play I have never seen performed live nor have I ever read it. Yes it is a short one act play but there is no doubt what is happening as the play opens and the dialogue commences.

There is no time wasted explaining the scene, describing the historical time setting or in presenting background info on the characters. Nor is there a delay in the development of the plot.

Had I not known this was by Oscar Wilde I might have thought this play was written by Shakespeare or one of his contemporaries as it is written in language that would have been used at that time. Thus, Wilde has set this play in the Florence of the 16th Century without specifically needing to inform the readers.

I loved it as it is. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is such a strange little play I'm not sure that I can make heads or trails of it, but here goes none the less. The premise for the play is straightforward enough, with the action centred around a marital affair and a rather motely group of players, but it seems like Wilde is trying to explore the characters in a more complex manner than expected.

Of course, the play is unfinished, so we aren't able to see the final result that he was aiming for, but I was quite intrigued by the finale and d This is such a strange little play I'm not sure that I can make heads or trails of it, but here goes none the less. Of course, the play is unfinished, so we aren't able to see the final result that he was aiming for, but I was quite intrigued by the finale and definitely wished that he had the time to complete the story.

How did the affair start, why is the merchant husband so desperate for cash, and why in the end are the two male players reverse in stature? So many questions, and not nearly enough space for them to be fully developed, but clearly Wilde had the start of something interesting here. Feb 03, Anaee rated it liked it. What is this? Of course, the belittling of women is still evident and while I do not condone such things and am definitely against it, I admit it was still a well-written and enjoyable play.

So, 3 stars for A Florentine Tragedy. Sep 16, Elizabeth rated it liked it. Closer to 2. What the hell is this play?! It's only a fragment, but it contains Wilde's flair for the melodramatic and beautiful word play. However, I have never read anything more ridiculous in my life! Dec 10, Harsh Pal Singh rated it it was ok. Moral policing. Simone a merchant finds his wife Bianca having an affair with prince Guido Bardi. There is prolonged conversation about trade, politics and other topics which establishes the already obvious fact that there's an extra marital affair going on in Simone's absence.

The play is not incomplete as it ends with a duel marking the killing of Guido. Jul 08, Rao Javed rated it liked it Shelves: plays. It wasn't the worst it wasn't be best like not everything is best in our and neither is everything worthless. May 05, Ellana Thornton-Wheybrew rated it it was amazing Shelves: ebooks-i-own , delphi-classics , lgbtq-author. What a ridiculous tragedy this is. Sep 24, Gabe rated it it was ok Shelves: plays. Dumb but hilarious. May 16, Rose rated it liked it.

In the form I've got it it's too incomplete to judge properly. I think it would have made a good tale had it ever been finished. May 28, Fabio Saraiva rated it it was amazing. Extremely beautiful. I didn't understand a word, but I'm sure it is important and beautiful. Aug 06, iggy rated it liked it. May 01, Susan rated it liked it.

A strange tale over dramatic but enjoyable. Dec 28, Steph rated it liked it. The short little play was OK but I enjoyed the end. Oct 11, David Poltorak rated it really liked it. Jun 21, Nissa Rachmidwiati rated it really liked it. I don't care if it is an unfinished work or not. I do love this play, though not as much as his other plays like the importance of being earnest and the ideal husband.

I think I won't like this play so much unless I listen to the audiobook as well. Check this free audiobook on Librivox and listen to it while you're reading as what I did earlier when I read this. What I found good on the play was only Simone's voice though. The voice-actor does the voice and the character really good. But others I don't care if it is an unfinished work or not. But others were If I could say "Meh! Oh wait, I just did.

I love the Simone's character, his stupidity, his inability to observe what's happening, his long-unimportant chatter, and I also love the twist of the play. If only this play was written long enough or if only someone would finish or elaborate the story.. But wait! No one can be compared to Wilde, no one can ever be juxtaposed to Wilde's eloquent writing. So I think this play will better off be left alone just like it is; unless Wilde could come up here to the world or else he could mail his writing from his grave.

But it will be impossible to happen. So what I'm trying to say is, to whoever finds this play bad, I hope you can think about what I've written there.