Two Voltairean Plays: The Triumvirate and Comedy at Ferney

Set in Roman times, Voltaire's play THE TRIUMVIRATE details a meeting on an island between Anthony and Octavian, in which the two main players in the post-Caesar Roman world decide how to divide up the spoils of war--and eliminate all potential rivals. Anthony agrees to divorce his wife Fulvia and marry Octavian's sister; and Octavian wants to marry Julia, Lucius's daughter, who loves Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey the Great. When a storm lands Julia and Pompey Junior on the island, Fulvia agrees to help the star-crossed lovers--if they will aid her in gaining her revenge on Anthony and Octavian. Louis Lurine and Albéric Second's play COMEDY AT FERNEY features an elderly Voltaire, who must put off a starstruck young female fan who wants to meet him. But Voltaire's guest, the Prince de Ligne, decides to use the situation to sample the favors of the infatuated woman. A clever and swift-moving comedy.