In the prologue, Talia (Thalia) and Urania announce an inspiring story. Baldassara, a successful actress admired by Alvaro and Rodrigo, is tormented: as she performs the role of Clorinda in the company of Beatrice, Lisa, and Biscotto in a theatrical adaptation of La Gerusalemme Liberata by Torquato Tasso, she is so disturbed that she misses her cue. Baldassara understands that her torment comes from the fact that, while she plays the role of a young Christian, she has turned a deaf ear to the calls of God. Right in the middle of the performance, she leaves to exile herself in the desert, pursued by Biscotto and Lisa, who attempt to deter her from her goal. Beatrice, however, has only contempt for her rival; the other actors apologize to the public, who seem enthusiastic at the performance of who they call the "Comica del Cielo" (the Actress from the Heavens). During her exile, Baldassara discovers the beauty in solitude, while Lisa and Biscotto see only horror. She refuses their pleas to return to Valenza. The Demon, disguised as a hunter, tempts Alvaro, who has left in search of his lover: the young man finds Baldassara, who implores him to devote his life to God. In despair, he leaves to throw himself from a cliff. Baldassara tries to stop him, but a boulder in the form of a cross intervenes. Baldassara kneels before the power of the Divine. Biscotto, in hermit's robes, decides to stay at her side despite objections from Lisa. During her slumber, the Demon sends Baldassara temptations: upon her wake, she repels him with a Christian symbol, which breaks the spell. Biscotto, however, regardless of Lisa's warnings, tastes a cake from the Demon: the bitterness in his mouth remains, but he succeeds in chasing the Demon away. Act II ends with a ballet. Beatrice arrives in the desert after the death of Tafer, who she followed across the oceans and who was defeated by Rodrigo. In a nocturnal scene, Baldassara and Biscotto discover Beatrice and successfully dissuade her from killing herself. Rodrigo, arriving mid-reunion, wants to kill Beatrice to avenge her infidelity. Baldassara interjects and commands him to turn toward God. After these multiple conversions Penitenza (Penitence) appears to Baldassara to bring her her rewards; she confronts the Demon and triumphs over him. Since Alvaro hopes to regain his good graces with the help of Lisa, he finds Baldassara dead, in the midst of a choir of angels and happy souls.

"On foot and by rod" puppet

Marionette with counterweight

Not specified

Spain

Madrid

Italy

Rome

Printed

Conversion

Desert

Hermit

Actress

Miracle

Edifying

Heroic

Religious

Epic

Italian

La Conversione di Santa Baldassarra Comica Spagnuola; La Comica celeste

ovvero La Baldassara

Thalie

Muse

Uranie

Lover (man)

King

Counselor

Servant

Maid

Devil

Soldier

Spectator

Choir

Angel

Play in verse

Chorus

Interlude

Prologue

Theatre within the theatre

Crowd

Sleeping character

Soliloquy

Night scene

Revelation

Failed suicide

Apparition of the Devil

Pact with the devil

Allegory

Death on stage

Flying machine

Apotheosis

Ascent to heaven

Apparition of an angel

La Comica del Cielo

The Actress from the Heavens

Guignol – a ragman – is upset as he finds nothing to resell. He comes across Gnafron, who is sleeping. Guignol is engaged to Louison – Gnafron’s daughter – but the three of them are lazy and penniless. They find a poster of the aeronaut Baloffet, who is about to take off for the Moon in a balloon and offers two thousand francs to whoever will go with him. Guignol volunteers and shares half of the advance on the reward with Gnafron. Louison is staying with her father and reproaches him for spending all the money he makes repairing shoes on wine. But the Bailli (bailiff) comes in and offers Gnafron twenty francs so that he shares with him the letters Guignol will send from the Moon. The balloon flies over a few forests then lands in the North Pole, before finally taking off for the Moon. Louison reads out Guignol’s first letter to the Bailli: Guignol is still on his way. On the Moon, the King and Queen attend a party where “mechanised dancers” are performing. Some guards bring in Guignol, who has just arrived. The King and Queen show him their wings. They are surprised to see that Guignol does not have any. They first consider putting him in a cage, but instead they ask him questions about life on Earth and how he travelled to the Moon. Guignol offers to establish business relationships between the Moon and the Earth. The King’s subjects revolt. Having been impressed by the gun Guignol carries, the King appoints him general-in-chief of his army. Guignol sends Baloffet back to Earth so that he brings Louison and Gnafron, who were already packing their things. Back on the Moon, Guignol has defeated the rebels, and he celebrates his victory by drinking wine. The Queen privately confesses her love to him. Gnafron and Louison have arrived on the Moon and come celebrate Guignol’s victory too. Gnafron is appointed as the King’s sommelier and the plays ends with a grand finale and a last verse.

Glove-puppet

Josserand Claude Louis François (aka Louis Josserand père)

France

Lyon

Manuscript

Moon

Gas balloon

Meals

Wine

Celebrity

Misery

Revolt

Seduction

Scatology

Comical

Fantasy

French

Guignol dans la Lune

Guignol

Gnafron

Inhabitants on the moon

Bailli

Prime Minister

Aeronaut

Queen

Guard

Monologue

Teichoscopy

Song

Off-stage voice

Letter

Ellipsis

Aside

Versified passages

Final song

Word warping

Le Voyage de Guignol dans la Lune

Guignol travels to the Moon

On the road to Amiens, Lafleur is arrested by a sentry. He explains who he is and his friend Blaise appears at this moment; he has been following him since Querrieu, thinking that Lafleur would enroll in the army. When Lafleur hears that his friend wants to become a soldier, he joins him, deciding that he will fulfill his duty after the war. Once recruited, the two friends stand guard at the entrance of the Querrieu woods. All of a sudden, they hear noises, coming from a spy on his way to inform general Manteuffel of what the French are planning. Lafleur stops him, but general Faidherbe, who has just arrived with his soldiers, tells him to release the spy, because the French do not do things the same way as the German. Catherine, Lafleur’s wife, had to flee Querrieu after it was destroyed by the Prussians. While crossing the woods, she is arrested by the Prussians who assault and abduct her. Lafleur, who has heard the cries, arrives too late to defend his spouse. The colonel arrives with his soldiers who have heard the cannon shots. Lafleur points to the direction in which the Prussians went. A battle begins. The colonel, hit by a bullet, hands leadership over to Lafleur. Believing that his wife is dead, Lafleur fights the Prussian army mercilessly, until he is wounded too. The battle ends when Blaise brings the living Catherine to Lafleur. Faldherbe announces that the French have won and that Lafleur is a French hero. Catherine asks to follow her husband on the battlefields and the general grants her permission. The musicians play the Marseillaise. Everyone sings and shouts “Vive la France!”.

Rod marionette

Amiens

Typewriting

Woman battered and kidnapped

Dead for the homeland

Marseillaise

Brave woman

Heroism

Dramatic

Picard language

Lafleur

Blaise

Sentinelle

Sergeant

Louis Faidherbe

General

Spy (man)

Colonel

Prussian

Battlefield scene

Comical foreign accent

El Bataille ed Querriu

The Battle of Querrieu

In the Valais canton, the sun rises over a pathway and a small wooden house. The mountains appear in the background. It is spring; the goatherd’s horn can be heard in the valley and the goats come running. The village of Savièze comes to life: the girls riding on mules’ backs go to work in the vineyard, two women are chatting, the pigs try to run away from the farmers,… A family of English tourists goes on a walk guided by Lord Quick, who is leading his daughters as a shepherd guides his flock… A storm breaks out in the valley, forcing the tourists, the shepherds and the animals to seek shelter. After the storm, the hikers finish climbing the high mountain and a chamois hunt resumes. Bells and prayers can be heard as a procession slowly walks towards the old chapel of Savièze: the women, the penitents, the priests, the altar children and the elderly are all part of it. The village finally celebrates Christmas before falling asleep under the snow.

Shadow theatre

All audiences

Switzerland

Geneva

Printed outline

Mountain

Seasons

Storm

Bucolic

Christmas

Alps

Tourism

Nature

Realist

Lyrical

Outline of Henri van Muyden's Goatherd for En Valais, copied in Le Sapajou.

Goat

Shepherd

Tourist

English man

Painter

Bull

Porcher

Hunter

Chamois

Daughter

Penitent

Choirboy

Old man

Priest

Boniment

Procession

En Valais

As planet Earth is covered by oceans, molten matter is cooling down. Dinosaurs are cooing among the ferns, and the first rocks are starting to form. A naked man from the Stone Age is proudly mounting a horse he has recently tamed. Jules César (Julius Caesar), also on horseback, is posing. Then come the crusades, and Godefroid de Bouillon is proclaimed King of Jerusalem. Centuries later, his equestrian statue is erected on the Royal Square. The horse is replaced by a boat. The city and its port reach the highest point of their history.

Belgium

Brussels

Printed summary

Statue équestre

Nationalism

Géologie

Paléontologie

Darwinism

Essor économique

Illustration by Léon Dardenne from a programme of the Théâtre du Diable au Corps, December 1896.

Fantaisie lyrique en sept tableaux

Godefroy de Bouillon

Julius Caesar

Ptérodactyles, Plésiosaures, Iguanodons

Prehistoric reptile

Horse

Army

Christian

Sung play

Seduction scene

Godefroid de Bouillon à travers les âges

Godfrey of Bouillon throughout the ages

Sir William comes to Guignol to suggest that he and Gnafron go sell pills and polish in Africa. The pills would whiten black people’s skins, and the polish would keep intact the skin colour of everyone who would like to stay black. The two friends accept, unaware that the commercial journey is a cover for the true mission, which is to stop captain Marchand from reaching Fashoda. They are joined by doctor Béziclier, who studies races, and his daughter Luce. In Africa, Gnafron’s business is not going well—nobody wants to buy the pills. On the other hand, Guignol’s polish sells very well. Guignol and Luce are in love, but Béziclier has already promised his daughter to their guide Friponi, who actually works for the British. Yet, the Italian man does not love Luce, who is only a means to his ends. With the help of Bétéké and his companions, he kidnaps Luce and Naora, the slave who travels with her. Friponi then brings the bad news to the doctor and to Guignol and Gnafron, and then goes to the two women’s “rescue”. He makes Korouto, the king of Bangala, believe that the French plan to “slaughter everyone and wipe everything out” and that he himself – Friponi – can prevent that from happening. To do so, he will need Korouto’s army, which the king agrees to lend him. Because the Italian does not need Luce, the king suggests that she be proposed to Joudochik, the king of a neighbouring land. Naora is in fact Korouto’s daughter. She explains to her father that the French have come to trade – not to wage war – and that Friponi is the real villain. The king understands that he was mistaken and decides to help the French find Luce. Joudochik is willing to give Luce back to Guignol, if she does not curse him. Luce agrees and promises him prosperity instead. Friponi understands that he has to stop the French on his own, and so he sets the forest on fire. Guignol and Gnafron catch and then kill him. Guignol and his friends arrive at Fashoda and befriend the Mahdi – the leader of the Soudanese people. Major Marchand announces that the Congo-Nile road has been drawn. Sirdar Kitchener, an English officer, contests it: Khartoum and Fashoda are theirs. The Major says that his soldiers would rather die than retreat, so the English pulls back in the end. The French have won Fashoda.