L'Arlésienne (play)
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L'Arlésienne was a play written by Alphonse Daudet in 1872. The three-act play later inspired suites of the same name, composed by Georges Bizet and Ernest Guiraud. Bizet wrote incidental music for the play's first production - a score that played an entire hour, in fact, and he later fashioned some of the music into an orchestral suite. After Bizet's death, Ernest Guiraud made a second suite from the music.
Plot
The play is set in Provence, France. L’Arlésienne, which translates to "the lady from Arles", is loved by two peasants: Fréderi and his brother, who is unnamed and is referred to as L’Innocent, or "The innocent". Fréderi commits suicide by jumping off a balcony, while the townsmen are dancing a farandole.
Trivia
Because the title character is never shown in the play, Arlésienne is now used, in French, to describe a person that is prominently (and sometimes voluntarily) absent from a place or a situation where that person would be expected to show up.
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