“Star of Seville” (Spanish: “La Estrella de Sevilla”) - the tragedy of Lope de Vega , written in 1623 .
The drama is connected with the idea of limiting the absolutist - despotic power. The author raised the question of the ethical and political nature of absolutism, which conflicts with the principles of human justice and the nobility of ordinary people. The play takes place during the reign of the Castilian king Sancho IV (1284–1295). Lope de Vega inserted the dramatic conflict arising from the king’s passion for Estrella into the clash of despotic power with municipal democracy, giving individual drama conflicts a broad socio-political generalization. The drama has gained pan-European success since 1817, when Lord Holland introduced the English public to it. In 1800, during the period of the rising opposition of the Spanish progressive public in relation to the feudal - absolutist monarchy, the Star of Seville was very successful on Spanish stages in the processing of the playwright Candido Maria Trigeros called Sancho Ortiz de las Roelas. Subsequent editions of Tiknor and H. Artsenbuch were made taking into account the text of Trigeros. In 1920, the French Spaniard R. Foucher-Delbosque released a critical edition of The Stars of Seville, based on a thorough analysis of both of her famous texts.
Content
History of Creation and Publication
The text of the “Star of Seville” came to us in two versions, which differ from each other in the number of verses and a number of significant differences. The first of them is presented in a separate edition, issued without indicating the place and year of publication, it refers to the period 1625-1634, the second - in the form of a clipping from an unknown collection of comedies published in the middle of the XVII century. The author in the headings of both publications indicates Lope de Vega, and he is also mentioned in the final verses of a separate publication. But in the final replica of Clarindo, in the second of the texts of The Stars of Seville, Cardeno is mentioned as the author. This pseudonym could be taken by a 17th-century Spanish playwright who was involved in processing the original text of Lope de Vega. There is speculation that Andres de Claramonte (? - 1626) was such a playwright. More than once doubts arose about the authorship of Lope de Vega (this point of view was supported by the French Spaniard Foucher-Delbosque). But based on a stylistic analysis, the author of the tragedy “Star of Seville” is undoubtedly Lope de Vega.
Story
The tragedy "Star of Seville" is dedicated to the image of the king and his moral character. The conflict develops between the king, who does not reckon with the dignity of other people, and the inhabitants of old Spain, who keep traditions and live by the laws of high honor. The development of the conflict is determined by two concepts of honor, which are embodied in the central character - Sancho Ortiz. The king liked Estrella, nicknamed by the people the “Star of Seville” for its extraordinary beauty. He wants to master the beauty, but on his way stands the girl’s brother - Busto Taber. Having found the king in his house, he rushes at him with a sword. The monarch decides to kill Busto, using the noble Sancho Ortiz, Estrella's groom. The king plays on Sancho's honesty. First, he brings Sancho to a frank conversation about loyalty to the king and takes his word from him to fulfill all the orders of the master implicitly and then gives the order for the murder of Busto Taber. The king hands Sancho a paper that justifies all the subsequent actions of the young man, but he tears it. The monarch gives a written order with the name of the victim and immediately leaves with a replica testifying to the complete indifference to the fate of his subordinates: Read after and find out Who you have to kill. Although the name may confuse you, But don’t back down ... Sancho has learned that he must kill Busto Taber, his best friend and brother of his beloved. He faces a choice: fulfill the king’s order or refuse. In both cases, he is a hostage of honor. Sancho kills Busto Taber and forever loses Estrella. The royal power is guilty of the incident. The peak of the debate about honor will be the scene of the court. Sancho will refuse to give the name of the person who ordered the murder. To the daring questions of King Sancho answers: I had a written order. King From whom? Don Sancho When the paper could Talk, she would give you a clear answer, But the paper is torn - And scraps can not pick up. What can I tell you now? That in fulfillment of the oath of Man I killed, Though he was my best friend. The king as a result does not withstand a moral duel. Addressing the people of Seville, he admits that he is guilty of the death of Busto Taber and declares the innocence of Sancho Ortiz. The king is surprised by the nobility of the people living in Seville to make amends, he decides to find spouses for Estrella and Sancho. Focusing on the issues of honor and traditions of old Spain, Lope de Vega emphasized that, brought up in the spirit of these traditions, Sancho Ortiz becomes their hostage, being an instrument in the hands of the king.
Actors
- King Don Sancho the Bold
- Don Sancho Ortiz
- Busto Taber.
- Estrella is his sister
Issues
The “Star of Seville” develops a number of problems that are ideologically and psychologically complex. These problems are reflected in the internal, ideological and moral conflicts of the main characters of the drama. In Busto Taber, these conflicts are expressed in the clash of a high understanding of the sovereign’s rank with the abuse of this dignity in reality - abuse, leading to an insult to his personal and family honor. Sancho Ortiz is experiencing a conflict between his devotion to the king, friendship with Busto and love for Estrella. In Estrella’s soul, there is a struggle between love for Sancho, as a groom, and hatred for him, as for the murderer of her brother. Against the background of these psychological conflicts, the image of the king is presented in an extremely unfavorable light. Sancho IV appears as a despotic king, sacrificing life, honor, the good name of his subjects for the sake of his whim, as a tyrant king, capable of illegal murder under the guise of an imaginary "state interest". His favorite, Don Arias, is a morally negative figure of a flatterer who submits the will of the king to his criminal suggestions. The “Star of Seville” remains in Spanish literature of the 17th century almost the most vivid denunciation of the existing socio-political regime and one of the most profound analyzes of the nature of absolutist despotism.
Translations
The “Star of Seville” was first translated into Russian by S. Yuriev (in freestyle). Later, this translation was reviewed by Professor D. Petrov, who brought its text closer to the original and re-translated a number of individual replicas and whole phenomena. In 1942, the translation of “The Stars of Seville” by T. Shchepkina –Coopernik, first published in a two-volume volume of plays by Lope de Vega (publishing house “Art”, v.1, 1954)
Production
In Russia, the “Star of Seville” was first staged on the stage of the Moscow Maly Theater in 1886. With the participation of Ermolova as Estrella and Yuzhin as Ortiz.