Loading credits…
In a prologue set in Hell, Dante and Virgil meet Paolo and Françoise. The four acts tell of the lovers’ passion amid the battles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines; in the epilogue they sing together before a heavenly choir pardons them.
Hamlet learns from his father’s ghost that Claudius murdered the king and seeks to expose the crime. His rejection of Ophélie drives her to madness and death; after a duel with Laërte, Hamlet kills Claudius and is proclaimed king, surviving in the standard ending.
A widowed Countess enjoys the attention of twelve suitors, while her sister the Baroness disapproves. When the Countess’s engagement to the Commander is revealed, he and a new Chevalier challenge each other to a duel; the Countess keeps each suitor hoping until the Commander and Chevalier instead turn toward the Baroness, then accepts the Commander herself.
In French-controlled Algeria, the miserly caïd Aboul-y-far offers his daughter Fathma to the hairdresser Birotteau in exchange for a supposed protective talisman, overlooking Birotteau’s engagement to Virginie. The caïd’s steward encourages Fathma’s romance with drum-major Michel, and the complications end with the talisman revealed as a baldness-curing pomade. Virginie and Birotteau marry, as do Fathma and Michel, while the caïd regrets the expense.
Libertine Gennaro refuses to marry Elvire and pursues wealth instead. Elvire disguises herself as an old woman; when Gennaro’s ventures fail, he marries her for financial protection. A potion restores her youth, and he is accused of murdering his wife. Facing execution, he would rather die than see Elvire become old again, convincing her of his love.
Queen Elizabeth and Olivia take refuge at a tavern and encounter a drunken William Shakespeare. Later, Olivia impersonates a mysterious figure that Shakespeare believes to be his muse; Lord Latimer challenges him to a duel, and Shakespeare flees into a river. At court, the Queen arranges for the night’s events to be treated as a dream, inspiring the play Shakespeare will write.
In Germany, the wandering minstrel Lothario and student Wilhelm Meister rescue Mignon from a gypsy who threatens her. Wilhelm buys her freedom, and Mignon travels with him while falling in love. At a castle, she becomes jealous when Wilhelm favors the actress Philine, and Lothario sets fire to the conservatory after Mignon wishes it would burn. Wilhelm rescues her. In Italy, the castle’s history helps Mignon recover her memory: she realizes that Lothario is her father, and the three are reunited.
Raymond, a young peasant in love with the orphan Stelle, is discovered to be the twin brother of Louis XIV and persecuted as a threat to the king’s reign. Raymond and Stelle escape when the Chevalier de Rosargues sacrifices himself by taking Raymond’s place behind the iron mask.
In a prologue set in Hell, Dante and Virgil meet Paolo and Françoise. The four acts tell of the lovers’ passion amid the battles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines; in the epilogue they sing together before a heavenly choir pardons them.
Hamlet learns from his father’s ghost that Claudius murdered the king and seeks to expose the crime. His rejection of Ophélie drives her to madness and death; after a duel with Laërte, Hamlet kills Claudius and is proclaimed king, surviving in the standard ending.
A widowed Countess enjoys the attention of twelve suitors, while her sister the Baroness disapproves. When the Countess’s engagement to the Commander is revealed, he and a new Chevalier challenge each other to a duel; the Countess keeps each suitor hoping until the Commander and Chevalier instead turn toward the Baroness, then accepts the Commander herself.
In French-controlled Algeria, the miserly caïd Aboul-y-far offers his daughter Fathma to the hairdresser Birotteau in exchange for a supposed protective talisman, overlooking Birotteau’s engagement to Virginie. The caïd’s steward encourages Fathma’s romance with drum-major Michel, and the complications end with the talisman revealed as a baldness-curing pomade. Virginie and Birotteau marry, as do Fathma and Michel, while the caïd regrets the expense.
Libertine Gennaro refuses to marry Elvire and pursues wealth instead. Elvire disguises herself as an old woman; when Gennaro’s ventures fail, he marries her for financial protection. A potion restores her youth, and he is accused of murdering his wife. Facing execution, he would rather die than see Elvire become old again, convincing her of his love.
Queen Elizabeth and Olivia take refuge at a tavern and encounter a drunken William Shakespeare. Later, Olivia impersonates a mysterious figure that Shakespeare believes to be his muse; Lord Latimer challenges him to a duel, and Shakespeare flees into a river. At court, the Queen arranges for the night’s events to be treated as a dream, inspiring the play Shakespeare will write.
In Germany, the wandering minstrel Lothario and student Wilhelm Meister rescue Mignon from a gypsy who threatens her. Wilhelm buys her freedom, and Mignon travels with him while falling in love. At a castle, she becomes jealous when Wilhelm favors the actress Philine, and Lothario sets fire to the conservatory after Mignon wishes it would burn. Wilhelm rescues her. In Italy, the castle’s history helps Mignon recover her memory: she realizes that Lothario is her father, and the three are reunited.
Raymond, a young peasant in love with the orphan Stelle, is discovered to be the twin brother of Louis XIV and persecuted as a threat to the king’s reign. Raymond and Stelle escape when the Chevalier de Rosargues sacrifices himself by taking Raymond’s place behind the iron mask.