L'enfant prodigue

About the show

French emperor Napoleon selected the subject of the ballet from several librettos choreographer Pierre Gardel presented to him. Gardel had hoped to stage a work on William Tell with themes of liberty and resistance, but the emperor favored The Prodigal Son. The ballet of the Prodigal Son, taken from the New Testament, unfolded across three main acts: Act I depicted the Prodigal Son's departure from home, act II followed his wanderings in a foreign land, and act III portrayed his return home. In the first act, young Azaël, the Prodigal Son, declares his intent to leave home, lured by the allure of Memphis, the capital of Egypt. Despite his grief, his father provides him with money, while his mother expresses deep sorrow. Act two shifts to Memphis, where Azaël who arrives alone succumbs to indulgence, losing his wealth and betraying Lia, a virtuous Moabite girl who had fallen in love with him. Overcome by despair and rejected by her father, Lia sacrifices herself to the Nile. The third act finds Azaël destitute in the desert starving and robbed by crooks, where an angel inspires him to return home. Upon returning home to the land of "Jessen", the first person he meets is Jephtelle.