Racine, Jean Page 1 of 2

Racine, Jean
(b nr Soissons, bap. 22 Dec 1639; d Paris, 21 April 1699). French dramatist.
He was given a thorough classical education by Jansenist priests, and the
contrast between their austere philosophy and the more libertine world of the
stage was to affect him throughout his life. A natural ability to write poetry
provided Racine's entrée into theatrical circles, where he became friendly with
other writers, including Molière, La Fontaine and Boileau. His first play, La
Thébaïde, was peformed in Paris in 1664, his last, Phèdre, in 1677.
Predictably, given his classical education, he chose subject matter for all but
one of his tragedies from Greek and Roman history or mythology. Given the
extent of his influence on French theatre, it is remarkable that he wrote only 12
plays, 11 of them tragedies. In 1677 he was appointed Historiographer Royal
to Louis XIV. He did not forsake writing, however: he provided two works for
Lully, La chute de Phaëton (1679, incomplete) and the divertissement Idylle
sur la paix (1685), and contemporary accounts allude to an unnamed ‘petit
opéra’ (more likely a ballet) written by Racine and De Préaux in three days and
performed during the carnival celebrations of 1683. Two religious plays, Esther
(1689) and Athalie (1691), were intended as re-creations of Greek drama,
complete with overtures, arias and choruses set by Jean-Baptiste Moreau.
Racine was elected to the Académie Française in 1673.
In Racine's tragedies the epitome of the French classical style was reached.
Their primary characteristic is psychological conflict. There is little violence,
and what there is usually takes place off stage and is then reported. The
conception of the plot is simple: one overruling passion, frequently love, is the
stimulus; the motives of the protagonists, on the other hand, are complex and
subtly delineated. The plays adhere to the dictates of classical drama: the
unities of time, place and action are observed and the main character is
imbued with greatness, but with one flaw which causes his or her downfall and
often that of others. The principal tragic figure is distinguished by determination
and singleness of purpose.
Racine's dramas had a lasting influence on French opera. Their metre and
rhythm provided the model for the recitative developed by Lully, who imitated
in music the manner of declamation of Racine's verses as spoken by the great
classical actress Marie Desmares, known as La Champmeslé, and renowned
for her mellifluous delivery. Racine's influence was also, for some years, more
direct: in 1683 he was appointed to the Académie Royale des Inscriptions, the
body which determined the subject matter of an opera, regulated its acts and
assigned places to the divertissements.
Racine's tragedies have provided inspiration for a variety of musical works,
mostly operatic. 18th-century librettists often changed the plot to suit
contemporary requirements; thus many operas drawn from his works managed
to contrive a happy ending by some means: a whim of the gods, the
magnanimity of a ruler or the repentance of a sinner. Besides operas, Racine's
dramas also prompted other musical treatment. Phèdre has served as the
basis for ballets by Louis de la Coste (Aricie, 1697) and Georges Auric (1949),
a symphonic poem by Martin Lunssens, a composition for soprano and piano
by Virgil Thomson (1930) and a monodrama for mezzo-soprano and orchestra
by George Rochberg, first performed in New York in 1976. Handel wrote
oratorios based on the religious tragedies, Esther and Athalie, the first of them
reworked from a masque of 1718. A number of composers wrote incidental
music for the plays, among them Mendelssohn for Athalie, Massenet for

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Racine, Jean Page 2 of 2

Phèdre and Saint-Saëns for Andromaque.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
GroveO (A. Stonehouse) [incl. list of derived operas and further bibliography]
G.E. Brereton: ‘Racine, Libettist’, Modern Language Review, xlii (1947), 363–
5
J. Orcibal: ‘Racine et Boileau librettistes’, Revue d'histoire littéraire de la
France, xlix (1949), 246–55
J. Vanuxem: ‘Sur Racine et Boileau librettistes’, Revue d'histoire littéraire de
la France, li (1951), 78–81
R. Picard: La carrière de Racine (Paris, 1956, 2/1961)
L. Boulay: ‘Cantiques spirituels de Racine mis en musique au XVIIe siècle’,
Bulletin de la Société d'études du XVIIe siècle, xxxiv (1957), 79–92
M. Bert: ‘La musique à la maison royale Saint-Louis de Saint-Cyr’, RMFC, iii
(1963), 55–72; iv (1964), 127–31; v (1965), 91–127
E. Paratore: ‘L'Andromaque del Racine e la Didone abbandonata del
Metastasio’, Scritti in onore di Luigi Ronga (Milan and Naples, 1973), 515–
47
ALISON STONEHOUSE

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