The Imaginary Invalid

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.