L’Avare
[Amsterdam, Elzevier], 1674.
1 vol. (85 x 125 mm) of [1]-3-108 p. Bradel-style binding in paper, smooth spine, title in brown Oeser leather, fillets (modern binding).
First reprint of the 1669 Elzevier edition, known as the “à la sphère” edition.
The first edition had been published by Jean Ribou, in Paris, with a printing statement dated 18 February 1669 (Guibert, I, 246, no. 5).
The first edition had been published by Jean Ribou, in Paris, with a printing statement dated 18 February 1669 (Guibert, I, 246, no. 5).
On 9 September 1668, Molière staged L’Avare at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. It received nine performances, including a first performance at Court on 5 November. The play was given in rotation with older comedies, and after its ninth performance it reappeared only paired with a farce, Le Fin Lourdaud. “That the public gave L’Avare a cool reception is thus certain; […] one explanation offered is that the use of prose for a great five-act comedy caused offense.” This is one of the reasons now recognized why, over the centuries, it became one of the most emblematic works of his output, alongside Le Bourgeois gentilhomme and Le Malade imaginaire.
Pieters & Adry, Annales de l’imprimerie Elsevirienne, III, 12.
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