Cyrano de Bergerac: Literary Touchstone Classic

Edmond Rostand

Jan 2006 · Prestwick House Inc

Ratings and reviews

However, there appears to be no footnotes, and a noticeably dumbed-down preface. The play deserves a real preface, rather than a blurb, especially since it is likely to remain a popular play for a very long time. The translation is similar to Brian Hooker's, but nowhere is the translator mentioned, or given credit. I have looked throughout the preview, and it would seem to be a significant omission. That suggests sloppy editing, or worse. Nor are there any scholarly apparatus - footnotes, index, or appendix. This could be a genuinely useful book for students of French, if it was just a tad more scholarly. The play of course is a classic of Victorian romanticism, and still plays well. It is quite often done in revivals, including a (Hooker translation) version in LA in the 1970's by Richard Chamberlain, that I was privileged to see. If one ignored his stereotypical leading man roles, and just heard his voice, he was nearly as much the embodiment of Cyrano, as Jose Ferrer, who set the standard, on the stage in a memorable Broadway run, and for a movie which won an Oscar. One simply cannot read the play, without hearing their favorite performance, and for Boomers, and pre-Boomers, that means Senor Ferrer. It was a mistake of Chamberlain and/or various producers, to not film or record that LA production, given the longevity of this play. The jury is still out on the recent movie by Gerard Depardieu.