Ruy Blas, 1838
Original title: Ruy Blas
Hugo's relation to the Duke of Orléans was better than the one to his father, King Louis-Philippe. When the son married Princess Helene of Mecklenburg in 1837, a banquet was held at the Versailles, to wich Hugo was invited. He was introduced to the young Dutchess who made no secret of her admiration of his literary genius. In Januari 1838, the royal couple visited the Hugos at Place Royale. The Duke was surprised to hear that Hugo had stopped writing for the stage, but Hugo explpained: "Théâtre-Française was dedicated to the dead and Théâtre Porte-Saint-Martin surrendered to fools". Soon thereafter, the Duke offered him to found a new theatre. It was named La Renaissance and it was to open with a prose drama by Hugo.
Ruy Blas took Hugo a month to write, and it was the best drama he had ever created. The play was cast with Frédérick Lemâitre in the role of Ruy Blas and Juliette Drouet as Queen Maria Anna of Pfalz-Neuburg - at last he would be able to compensate her for the disaster of Marie Tudor and neglecting her in Angelo. But Adèle intervened behind Hugo's back and when he returned from a week-long trip, the manager Joly had replaced Juliette with Lemâitre's lover, Atala Beauchêne. Hugo complied, afraid that his own judgement of Juliette's professional abilities was clouded.
Théâtre de la Renaissance opened 8 November, with the premiere of Ruy Blas as part of the festivities. Its success was average and it also fueled the suspicions that there was a less than appropriate liaison between Hugo and the Duchess. But Ruy Blas was a masterpiece and with time it rendered the immortality it deserved.
