The title character of Cyrano de Bergerac is a fictionalization of the basic facts life of a real person by the same name, a French writer and swordsman who lived in the early 1600’s. The play consists of five acts and is written entirely in rhyming couplets of twelve syllables per line that approximate the popular French alexandrine form. Our hero is Hercule Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, a talented, strong-willed nobleman serving as a soldier in the French Army. A duelist, a poet, and a musical artist, he also has an exceptionally large nose which keeps him from declaring his love for Roxane. Early in the play Cyrano gets his hopes up when he visits with Roxane, thinking he might have a chance, but they are dashed when she confides that she is in love with Christian, a young cavalier in his regiment. When Christian confides his feelings for Roxane to Cyrano, he also admits that he is the least eloquent of men. Cyrano offers to write love letters to her on Christian’s behalf. The play careens through twists and turns, coming to a tragic climax that sends Roxane to see a convent. Fifteen years later, Cyrano travels to meet with Roxane, but, alas, it is not what we might have wished. The play was a huge hit when it debuted in late 1895, running for 300 consecutive nights. The play has been a perennial favorite ever since and is famous for introducing the word “panache” into the English language.

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