The Imaginary Sick or by his name in French The bad imagination, is the last comedy written by the Frenchman Molière. If you want to know more details, he continues reading.
The Imaginary Sick
It is a three-act comedy-ballet, eight, nine and fifteen scenes respectively, it premiered on February 10, 1673 and who was in charge of the premiere was tclothes by Molière. The place of premiere was the Royal Palace Theater (Paris, France). It is written in verse and inspired by the commedia dell'arte. The composer of the music is Marc-Antoine Charpenter and the ballet by Pierre Beauchamp.
Characters
The Imaginary Sick has twelve characters, which are:
- Argan, a hypochondriac (Person who worries excessively about suffering from serious illnesses)
- Bélisa: Argan's second wife.
- Angelica: The daughter of Argán, in love with Cleonte.
- Louison: Angelica's sister, Argan's youngest daughter.
- Béraldo: Brother of Argan.
- Cleonte: Angelica's lover (Lover).
- Mr. Diafoirus, a doctor.
- Thomas Diafoirus, the doctor's son, engaged to Angelica.
- Mr. Purgon, doctor of Argan.
- Mr. Fleurant, apothecary (in charge of the pharmacy).
- Mr. de Bonnefoi, notary.
- Antoinette, Argan's servant.
The development of these characters allows us to explore the dynamics of contemporary society and Molière's critique of medicine and hypochondria, themes that are highly relevant in literature. If you'd like to delve deeper into other works that address similar themes, I invite you to explore legends of Michoacán, where elements of culture and social criticism are intertwined.
The music of The Imaginary Sick
Initially, the play was conceived with musical intermissions at the end of each act, together with the establishment of Argán as a doctor. Also, Angélica and Cleonte sing a short piece at the beginning of the second act. This is why Molière turned to Charpentier to be the composer.
The score was believed lost, but was found at the Comédie-Française by William Christie, who performed it on March 16, 1990 with Les Arts Florissants, in a performance at the Châtelet Theater. Until then, other composers had tried to transcribe the work, for example Jacques Offenbach in 1851.
The work in audio
LA Theater Works recorded and released a production in 1998, adapted by Beth Miles (who also directed the production), based on John Wood's translation. It was performed by The Actors Gang, and so far it is the only recording of the play in English.
The legend behind the work
It is a common superstition among actors not to wear yellow on stage because it is a bad omen, they consider that it can bring them bad luck or failure, it comes from the French playwright and actor Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673).
In February 1673, when Molière premiered The Imaginary Invalid, a play that focused on doctors as a satire and humor, a few days later, the author himself felt ill and died a few hours later at his home. On the day of the play's performance, Molière wore yellow clothes. This marked the use of the color yellow on stage.
If you have been interested in this article, do not hesitate to review our related article about a Spanish comedy by the Literary Lope de Vega: the dog in the gardener
El Enfermo Imaginario, complete work, performed by the Mester theater group, you can see it in the following video below:
For a deeper exploration of notable characters and moments, you can check out the plot of Tartuffe.
Also, if you are interested in the Chilean legends, can also offer you interesting context about narrative and culture in Molière's plays.
Finally, to better understand the mythological elements that can influence theatre, consult the Bolivian myths that have influenced literature and drama.