Monsieur de Pourceaugnac at The Estates Theatre

Avarice, scheming, stupidity, pride and desire for social advancement are all themes that were topical at the time Moliere was writing his play, and they are still topical today. Monsieur de Pourceaugnac was created in 1669 as a comédie-ballet in prose and was first performed by Moliere’s troupe of actors before the court of Louis XIV at the Château de Chambord. The music was composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully. In this comedy, Moliere portrays a gawky, ennobled burgess longing to advance his social rank. The vehicle for reaching his goal should be his marrying Julie, the daughter of the noted aristocrat Oronte. Yet Julie loves the young and handsome Éraste. In order to prevent the impending marriage, the young couple devise a plan aimed at discrediting Monsieur de Pourceaugnac in the eyes of Julie’s parents. The composer of the music for our production, Vít Zouhar, will draw upon Lully’s motifs. The performance will also feature a small orchestra. The production will be directed by Hana Burešová, a specialist in discovering neglected plays.