About the Play

Nothing counts so much in the daily life of the decadent French aristocracy on the eve of the Revolution as the painstaking maintenance of a brilliant and moral facade, behind which one abandons oneself to frivolous promiscuity. Thus the 18th century, and with it the unrestricted ascendancy of the French aristocracy draws to a close…

La Marquise de Merteuil and Le Vicomte de Valmont are connected not only by an earlier liaison, whose ties loosened into friendship; in addition they are both accomplished collaborators in the arts of seduction and intrigue.

On an evening in August the Marquise awaits Valmont. She needs his help in order to revenge herself on her last lover Gercourt. The latter has decided to marry; his future bride however must be an unsullied virgin. His choice falls on the very young Cécile Volanges, who has only recently left the strict supervision of a convent. Cécile should be seduced by Valmont before the marriage takes place so that the Marquise can ridicule and humiliate Gercourt after the wedding. To the Marquise’s regret, Valmont considers this easy task beneath his dignity. He is pursuing other plans designed to crown his reputation as a seducer. He chose as his victim the virtuous and happily-married Madame de Tourvel who is currently visiting his aunt, Madame de Rosemonde. For Valmont, the special pleasure in such a conquest would be in observing the qualms of conscience suffered by a lady of blameless reputation who must betray everything in which she believes if she succumbs to passion. The Marquise, rather sceptical of his chances, offers him, in the event of success which must be substantiated by written evidence, a night with her.

Valmont’s initial approaches to Madame de Tourvel fail miserably and in order not to fall out of her favour entirely, he departs from his aunt’s house, not without having learned that his coveted prey had been forewarned about him by Madame de Volanges, C�cile’s mother.

The Marquise is delighted that Valmont is now willing to carry out her plans for revenge, the more so as C�cile’s young admirer, the music tutor Danceny has proved himself too unfashionably naive and idealistic to act as a substitute.

Cécile’s resistance is soon broken and after the Marquise has enlightened her as to advantages of being a woman, Valmont finds her a talented novice. Equally pleasurable are the small signs of progress with Madame de Tourvel who has at last accepted his familiarity and ‘devotion’. In a weak moment she declares her love for him but the inner conflict proves too much for her weak physical constitution and Valmont, seeing her convulsive trembling, at once desists. The intensity of feeling shown by this exceptional woman is a new experience for him, as is the shame that he feels for the first time. After Madame de Tourvel has confided in the wordly-wise Madame de Rosemonde she flees from the house away from Valmont’s influence and is henceforth out of his reach. It is only after weeks that Valmont, now completely obsessed by her, succeeds in seeing her. He resorts to extreme measures, threatening her to take his life if she should again reject him. Tourvel’s resistance is now broken and she surrenders herself, body and soul.

Valmont informs the Marquise of his triumph, but she has already surmised that in spite of his cynical mask and without realising it himself, he loves for the first time. Not even the Marquise’s new lover, none other then the young Danceny, is able to mitigate this blow to her pride and the unsuspecting Valmont becomes the target for her hate. By goading his vanity she drives him to break with Tourvel in the cruellest manner.

Valmont realises too late that he has sacrificed happiness to his greatest weakness. For him and the ill-fated Madame de Tourvel his frivolous game ends in death.

Translation: Cynthia Reitter