Birgit Cullberg’s The School For Wives<\/i> (Hustruskolan)<\/i> is a comedic ballet based freely on Moli\u00e8res The School For Wives (1662)<\/i>. The work centers around the middle-aged bourgeois man Arnolphe and a young loving couple, Agnes and Horace. Arnolphe has raised Agnes in isolation in hopes of marrying her when she comes of age. He regards her as a simple and foolish young woman, unable to grasp the complexities of the world, and attempts to keep it that way in order that she marry and remain faithful to him.<\/p>\n
But Agnes, strengthened by her new found love for Horace and her will to live, outsmarts her guardian and continues to meet Horace. A number of twists ensue, including two cases of mistaken identity. Finally, through a final plot turn, Arnolphe\u2019s schemes are rendered ineffective and young Agnes continues her relationship with Horace.<\/p>\n
As in a much of Cullberg\u2019s work, a central theme of the ballet revolves around an old man’s vain attempt to win a young girl\u2019s heart. Furthermore, themes of loneliness and longing for unattainable love are present in the work. Additionally, a complicating factor in the work is that Arnolphe is truly in love with Agnes, shading the humorous elements with more complexity and lending the comedic a human, if not tragic, touch. The School For Wives <\/i>is an example of Cullberg\u2019s ability to deploy humor with subtlety and grace.<\/p>\n
The School For Wives<\/i> was first recorded for television in the United States by the same production company at the University of Wisconsin that also filmed The Dreamer<\/i>. The School For Wives <\/i>was moved to the stage in 1974.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Birgit Cullberg’s The School For Wives (Hustruskolan) is a comedic ballet based freely on Moli\u00e8res The School For Wives (1662). The work centers around the middle-aged bourgeois man Arnolphe and a young loving couple, Agnes and Horace. Arnolphe has raised Agnes in isolation in hopes of marrying her when she comes of age. He regards […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-16578","archived_performance","type-archived_performance","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.cullberg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archived_performance\/16578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.cullberg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archived_performance"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.cullberg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/archived_performance"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.cullberg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}