The Imaginary Invalid

For other uses, see The Imaginary Invalid (disambiguation).
The Imaginary Invalid
Konstantin Stanislavski as Argan
in the Moscow Art Theatre production in 1913.
Written byMolière
Date premiered1673
Place premieredThéâtre du Palais-Royal
Paris
Original languageFrench
Genrecomédie-ballet

The Imaginary Invalid, The Hypochondriac, or The Would-Be Invalid (French title Le Malade imaginaire, [lə malad imaʒinɛːʁ]) is a three-act comédie-ballet by the French playwright Molière with dance sequences and musical interludes (H.495, H.495 a, H.495 b) by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It premiered on 10 February 1673 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris[1] and was originally choreographed by Pierre Beauchamp.[2]

Molière had fallen out with the powerful court composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, with whom he had pioneered the comédie-ballet form a decade earlier, and had opted for the collaboration with Charpentier.[3] Le malade imaginaire was Molière's last work. He collapsed during his fourth performance as Argan on 17 February and died soon after.

  1. ^ Garreau 1984, p. 418.
  2. ^ John S. Powell, "Pierre Beauchamps, Choreographer to Molière's Troupe du Roy ", Music & Letters 76/2 (May 1995): 168-186.
  3. ^ John S. Powell, "Charpentier's Music for Molière's "Le Malade imaginaire" and Its Revisions", Journal of the American Musicological Society 39/1 (Spring 1986): 87-142.