Drama

Few authors have had such a dramatic effect as Bertolt Brecht. His work has helped to shape a generation of writers, theatergoers, and thinkers. His plays are studied worldwide as texts that changed the face of theater. The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a parable inspired by the Chinese play Chalk Circle. Written at the close of World War II, the story is set in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia. It retells the tale of King Solomon and a child claimed by and fought over by two mothers. But this chalk circle is metaphorically drawn around a society misdirected in its priorities. Brecht's statements about class are cloaked in the innocence of a fable that whispers insistently to the audience. No translations of Brecht's work are as reliable and compelling as Eric Bentley's. These versions are widely viewed as the standard renderings of Brecht's work, ensuring that future generations of readers will come in close contact with the work of a playwright who introduced a new way of thinking about the theater.

This is an English translation of Aristophanes' popular comedy in which the god Dionysus seeks to bring the great dramatist Euripides from Hades, where he encounters another great Classical playwright, Aeschylus. Includes background material on the historical and cultural context of this work, suggestions for further reading, and notes. The Focus Classical Library provides close translations with notes and essays to provide access to understanding Greek culture and the roots of contemporary thought.

Euripides' classic drama about the often mortifying consequences of the unbridled—and frequently hysterical—celebration of the feast of Dionysus, the God of wine.

Tato verze obsahuje kratký úvod jak k této hře tak i k opeře Věc Makropulos, jejimž autorem je Leoš Janáček. Tajemná žena Elina Makropulos prozradí, že je jí ve skutečnosti 300 let. Je dcerou alchymisty, který působil na dvoře Rudolfa II., a který objevil elixír mládí. Císař mu nařídil, aby tento přípravek vyzkoušel na své dceři. Mnoho lidí jí závidí, ale ona je unavena žitím, protože lidský život je těžký a jeho normální délka stačí. Za 300 let poznala všechny lidské vlastnosti, vidí už jen něco, co se stále opakuje, to ji unavuje. Přesto se však bojí smrti... Věc Makropulos je jedno ze stěžejních dramat Karla Čapka bylo koncipováno jako komedie o nesmrtelnosti. Tato hra měla premiéru v roce 1922 v Městském divadle na Vinohradech v Praze. Zabývá se otázkou nesmrtelnosti a práva člověka prodlužovat si uměle život.

«Белая болезнь» (чеш. Bílá nemoc) — фантастическая пьеса Карела Чапека 1936 года, впервые поставлена в 1937. Гротескно и сатирически изображает тоталитаризм Третьего Рейха.

Henrik Ibsen nació el 20 de marzo de 1828 en Skien, al sur de Cristianía, llamada hoy con su nombre más antiguo: Oslo. Alternó sus residencias en Noruega -su patria-, Alemania, Italia, y desde 1892 ya no se movió de Cristianía, donde murió en 1906. Hasta el final de su vida Ibsen marcó las llagas morales de su pueblo y de la humanidad, sin hacer caso de las voces contrarias. Desenmascaró a sus adversarios en Un enemigo del pueblo (1883); planteó la lucha entre la verdad y la mentira en El pato silvestre (1884), y la de los valores ciertos o aparentes en Casa de muñecas (1879); determinó las causas del tormento fisiológico y espiritual en Espectros (1881); en Hedda Gabler (1890) buceó en el abismo del alma femenina como foco de un problema general; debatió en La dama del mar (1888) el determinismo y el libre albedrío, formulando sugestiones novísimas, y deslumbró con la imaginación envolvente de Peer Gynt (1867), donde resuenan los ecos de las fantásticas leyendas nórdicas.

In this charming comedy of manners, one of Shakespeare's earliest efforts in the genre, a well-intentioned king vows to forego all fleshly delights, setting the stage for romantic hijinks. Ferdinand, the king of Navarre, insists that his court join him in a pledge to undertake a strict regimen of study and celibacy. The grudging compliance of three noblemen is sorely tested—as is the king's own resolve—with the arrival of a French princess and a trio of comedy attendants.