"Notre Dame Cathedral" is a novel, a summary of which is presented in this article. Victor Hugo published it for the first time in 1831. This work is considered the first historical novel written in French. However, this is not the only reason why we advise you to get acquainted with the creation, the author of which is Victor Hugo. "Notre Dame Cathedral" is a book, the summary of which is now familiar to many people from all over the world. Its popularity is huge, and this is no coincidence - the work is really worth reading.

Get ready to get acquainted with the events with which Victor Hugo begins "Notre Dame Cathedral". We will try to convey a brief summary of them, without going into details, but without missing anything important. So, let's begin.

Someone's long-decayed hand in the back streets of the tower of the great cathedral inscribed the word "rock" in Greek. Then the word itself disappeared, but from it was born a whole book about a hunchback, a gypsy and a priest.

Failed submission

January 6, 1482 - the feast of the baptism. On this occasion, they give a mystery in the Palace of Justice. A huge crowd has been gathering since morning. The Cardinal of Bourbon, as well as the ambassadors from Flanders, should be welcome to the spectacle. The audience slowly starts to murmur. Schoolchildren rage the most. Jehan, a 16-year-old blond imp, stands out among them. This is the brother of Claude Frollo, the learned archdeacon. Pierre Gringoire, the nervous author of the mystery, orders the performance to begin. However, the poet is not lucky: as soon as the actors pronounce the prologue, the cardinal enters, and a little later the ambassadors. The townspeople from the city of Ghent are so colorful that the Parisians look only at them. Maitre Copinol, a hosiery, is universally admired. He talks in a friendly way, without demeanor, with Clopin Trouillefou, a disgusting beggar. The damned Fleming, to Gringoire's horror, honors his production with the last words and offers to elect a buffoon's pope, who will be the one who makes the most terrible grimace. Applicants for such a high title stick out their physiognomies from the window of the chapel. Quasimodo is the winner. This is a bell ringer, whose home is Notre Dame Cathedral.

The summary of the work of the same name continues with the following events. Quasimodo does not even need to grimace, he is so ugly. A monstrous hunchback is dressed in a ridiculous mantle. It is carried away on the shoulders in order, according to custom, to pass through the streets of the city. The author of the production is already hoping to continue the play, but someone shouts that Esmeralda is dancing in the square - and the remaining spectators immediately leave their seats.

Events at Greve Square

Gringoire wanders in anguish to the Place Greve. He wants to look at Esmeralda and suddenly sees a lovely girl - either an angel or a fairy, however, who turned out to be a gypsy. Like other spectators, Gringoire is enchanted by the dancer.

But then the gloomy face of a bald man appears in the crowd. This man accuses Esmeralda of witchcraft, as her white goat beats the tambourine 6 times with her hoof, answering the question of what date it is today. The girl begins to sing, and then a woman's voice is heard, full of frenzied hatred. This gypsy is cursed by the recluse of Roland's tower. At this moment, a procession enters the Greve Square. Quasimodo flaunts in its center. The bald man who frightened the gypsy rushes to him, and Gringoire realizes that this is his hermetic teacher - Claude Frollo. The teacher tears off the tiara from the hunchback, tears the mantle to shreds, breaks the staff. Quasimodo falls to his knees before him. A day rich in spectacles is already coming to an end. Without much hope, Gringoire wanders after the gypsy. Suddenly, he hears a piercing scream: two men are trying to clamp the girl's mouth. Pierre calls the guards. An officer in command of the royal riflemen appears at the call. They grab one of the visitors - it turns out to be Quasimodo. With Captain Phoebe de Chateauper, her savior, the gypsy does not take her grateful eyes off.

Gringoire in the Court of Miracles

Fate brings the ill-fated poet to the Court of Wonders - the kingdom of thieves and beggars. Here they grab a stranger and bring him to the Altyn King. Pierre is surprised to recognize Clopin Trouillefou in him. The local customs are severe: you need to pull out the purse from the scarecrow with bells, and so that the bells do not jingle. Otherwise, a loop awaits the loser. Gringoire, who has arranged the ringing, is dragged to the gallows. Only a woman can save him, if there is one who wants to take Gringoire as her husband. No one coveted the poet, and he would have had to swing on the crossbar if, out of the kindness of his soul, Esmeralda had not released him. The emboldened poet wants to show his marital rights, but in this case the girl has a small dagger. The dragonfly turns into a wasp in front of Pierre's eyes. Gringoire lies down on the mat, because he has nowhere to go.

Trial of Quasimodo ("Notre Dame Cathedral")

The chapter-by-chapter summary proceeds to describe the trial of Quasimodo, which takes place the day after Esmeralda's abduction. The disgusting hunchback in 1482 was 20 years old, and Claude Frollo, his benefactor, was 36. A little freak was put on the porch of the cathedral 16 years ago. Only one person took pity on him. Claude, having lost his parents during the terrible plague, was left alone with a baby in his arms. He loved him with a devoted passionate love. Perhaps the thought of his brother prompted him to pick up the orphan he named Quasimodo. He fed him, taught him to read and write, put him to the bells.

Quasimodo, who hated all people, was boundlessly devoted to the archdeacon for this. Perhaps he loved more than him, only Notre Dame Cathedral. A brief summary of the work of interest to us cannot be compiled without noting that for Quasimodo the cathedral was home, home, the whole universe. That is why he, without hesitation, carried out the order of Claude. Now Quasimodo had to answer for it. A deaf judge gets a deaf Quasimodo, which ends badly - he is sentenced to a pillory and whips.

Scene at the pillory

The hunchback cannot understand what is happening until he is taken to be flogged to the screams of the crowd. The torment does not end there: after the scourging, the kind townspeople throw ridicule and stones at him. The hunchback asks for a drink, to which he is answered only by bursts of laughter. Esmeralda suddenly appears in the square. Quasimodo, seeing this culprit of his troubles, is ready to incinerate her with a glance. However, the girl fearlessly rises to him and brings a flask of water to his lips. A tear rolls down his ugly face. The crowd now applauds the spectacle of innocence, youth and beauty that has come to the aid of the embodiment of wickedness and ugliness. Only the recluse of the Roland Tower breaks out with curses.

Failed Fun

At the beginning of March, after a few weeks, Phoebe de Chateaupere is talking to Fleur-de-Lys, his fiancee, and her bridesmaids. For the sake of fun, girls want to invite a pretty gypsy girl dancing on Cathedral Square into the house. However, they soon repent of this, as Esmeralda overshadows them all with beauty and grace. The gypsy herself looks intently at the captain, which amuses his pride. When the goat puts the word "Phoebus" out of letters, his bride faints, and the gypsy is immediately expelled.

Conversation between Claude Frollo and Gringoire

The girl attracts the eye: Quasimodo looks admiringly at her from the window of the cathedral, and Claude Frollo looks at her gloomily from another window. He spotted a man next to the gypsy, but before the girl always performed alone. The archdeacon, going downstairs, recognizes Pierre Gringoire, his student, who disappeared 2 months ago. Claude asks him about the gypsy. The poet replies that this girl is a harmless and charming creature, a child of nature. Esmeralda is chaste because she wants to find her parents through the amulet. This amulet allegedly helps only virgins. She is loved for her kindness and cheerful disposition.

Esmeralda believes that she has only 2 enemies in the city - the recluse of the Roland Tower, who for some reason hates the gypsies, and also the priest who constantly pursues her. The girl with the help of a tambourine teaches tricks to her goat. There is no witchcraft in them - it took only 2 months to teach the animal to add the word "Phoebus". The archdeacon comes into extreme excitement. On the same day, he hears how Jean, his brother, calls out in a friendly manner by the name of the captain of the royal shooters, and goes to a tavern with young rake.

Killing Phoebus

What happens next in such an eventful work as the novel "Notre Dame Cathedral"? A very brief summary, compiled by us, continues with one important episode - the murder of Phoebus. It happened like this. Phoebus has an appointment with a gypsy. The girl is in love and is even ready to sacrifice the amulet. After all, if she has Phoebus, why does she need a mother and a father? The captain kisses the gypsy, and at that moment she sees a dagger raised above him. The face of the hated priest appears before Esmeralda. The girl loses consciousness. Having come to her senses, she hears from all sides that the captain was stabbed to death by a sorceress.

Esmeralda's verdict

Another month passes. The Court of Miracles and Gregoire are in terrible alarm - Esmeralda is gone. Pierre one day sees a crowd gathered at the Palace of Justice. He is told that a trial is underway for the murderer of a military man. Esmeralda denies everything, despite the evidence - a demon in the clothes of a priest, whom many witnesses saw, as well as a demonic goat. However, the girl cannot stand the torture with a Spanish boot - she confesses to prostitution, witchcraft, and also to the murder of Phoebus. She is sentenced for a combination of crimes to repentance, which she must commit at the Cathedral, after which - to hanging. The goat will face the same punishment.

Claude visits the gypsy in the casemate

Claude Frollo comes to the casemate to the girl. He asks her to run away with him, confesses his love. Esmeralda rejects the love of this priest, and with it the proposed salvation. Claude angrily yells back that Phoebus is dead. But this is a lie - he survived, and his heart was again filled with love for Fleur de Lis.

Esmeralda is saved in the church

Lovers on the day of execution gently coo, looking out of the window with curiosity. The bride is the first to recognize the gypsy. Esmeralda, seeing Phoebus, loses her senses. Quasimodo picks her up in his arms and runs with a cry of "refuge" to Notre Dame Cathedral. The brief content continues with the fact that the crowd greets the hunchback with enthusiastic cries. This roar reaches the Place Greve, as well as the Roland Tower, in which the recluse does not take her eyes off the gallows. Hiding in the church, the victim slipped away.

Esmeralda is now home to Notre Dame Cathedral. A summary of the pages dedicated to her life here is as follows. The girl can't get used to the ugly hunchback. He, not wanting to annoy Esmeralda with his deafness, gives her a whistle, the sound of which he can hear. When the archdeacon pounces on the girl, Quasimodo nearly kills him in the dark. Only the ray of the moon saves Claude. He begins to be jealous of the gypsy to the bell ringer.

Assault on the Cathedral

Gringoire, at his instigation, raises the entire Court of Miracles - thieves and beggars, in order to save a gypsy, storm Notre Dame Cathedral. We tried to compile a summary and description of this assault within the framework of one article without missing anything important. The girl is fiercely defended by Quasimodo. Jean Frollo is killed by his hand. Grenoir, meanwhile, secretly takes the girl out of the Cathedral, after which she involuntarily passes it into the hands of Claude. The priest takes Esmeralda to the Place Greve, offers his love for the last time. There is no escape: having learned about the rebellion, the king himself ordered the witch to be hanged. Terrified, the gypsy recoils from Claude. He drags the girl to Roland's tower.

Reunion of mother and daughter

Dramatic events depicted in his work Hugo ("Notre Dame Cathedral"). A summary of the most tragic of them is still ahead. Let's talk about how this story ended.

Putting her hand out from behind the bars, the hermit grabs Esmeralda, and the priest calls the guards. The gypsy begs to be let go, but Paquette Chantefleurie only laughs wickedly in response. Her daughter was stolen by the gypsies, now let their offspring die. The recluse shows Esmeralda her daughter's slipper - exactly the same in Esmeralda's amulet. The recluse almost loses her mind with joy - she has found her child. Mother and daughter remember the danger too late. The recluse tries to hide her daughter in a cell, but the girl is found and dragged to the gallows.

The final

The tragic ending has "Notre Dame Cathedral". The novel makes readers empathize with the main characters throughout the work, and especially in the final episode. Let's describe it. The mother, in a desperate impulse, bites into the hand of the executioner with her teeth. She is thrown away and the woman falls dead. The archdeacon looks at the square from the height of the Cathedral. Quasimodo, who has already suspected him of kidnapping a gypsy woman, sneaks after him and sees how a noose is put on the girl's neck. During the execution, the priest laughs. Quasimodo does not hear him, but he sees a satanic grin and pushes Claude into the abyss.

Thus ends Notre Dame Cathedral. The summary of a musical or novel, of course, is not able to convey its artistic features and emotional power. We tried to highlight only the main events of the plot. Quite a large work in terms of volume - "Notre Dame Cathedral". A detailed summary therefore cannot be written without omitting some points. However, we have described the main We hope the information provided was useful to you.

Notre Dame Cathedral is not just one of the most famous works of French classical literature. It is, for example, the first historical novel in its country. It is also a source of inspiration for the creators of 14 films, 1 cartoon, 2 operas, a ballet and a musical. Many Russians are familiar with the plot of the novel, but even those who once read it excitedly do not pay attention or do not remember some interesting details.

Something is definitely not in the novel, although it seems to many that there is

Esmeralda is a gypsy to many readers, although the book makes it clear that she is French, stolen as a child. It seems to a modern person that this does not matter, because in this case the girl was raised like a gypsy. But at the beginning of the nineteenth century in Europe they believed in innate qualities, including those inherent in different races and peoples. So for Hugo there was a direct connection between how noble Esmeralda behaved and the fact that she was French by blood.

Notre Dame Cathedral is often called a love story. But in fact, if you read carefully, few characters are capable of love. Actually, Esmeralda and Quasimodo. All the other men who surround Esmeralda think only of their carnal desires. Even the poet saved by her from the gallows, instead of simply being humanly grateful to the girl, immediately tries to “enter into matrimonial rights”. Luckily, he's not a rapist.

What Frollo is obsessed with has little to do with love, although it is customary for us to sing about such a dark passion. With Phoebus, too, everything is clear. He hardly ever loved in his life. He does not feel a drop of tenderness for Fleur-de-Lys and at some point, out of boredom, he thinks of raping her, but she, having guessed his thoughts, runs out of the room to the balcony, where both of them will be visible.

In fact, Esmeralda is tortured and killed because of someone else's lust, just broken, like a strange toy that for some reason did not want to participate in the game.

Not everyone remembers where Frollo got Quasimodo. Initially, the hunchback boy was planted in Esmeralda's mother to replace the stolen girl. Then the woman herself threw him to the cathedral. Judging by the fact that Quasimodo is red, the gypsies and, according to the author’s idea, were once stolen or picked up - in the villages of Europe, children born with disabilities were often carried out to die out of the village. If we turn to another Hugo novel, "The Man Who Laughs", one can suspect that they wanted to teach the boy some simple tricks or dance so that he would make the audience laugh with his performances. In the Middle Ages (and even in Hugo's time), this was perhaps the best lot for a disabled child, considering how many were simply left to die.

There is not a single hint why, in the end, the gypsies threw the baby into someone else's children's bed. It will forever remain a mystery.

Frollo educates Quasimodo not just out of philanthropy, but in order to earn forgiveness from God for the unlucky younger brother, student and ugly, with his kindness to the disabled.

The custom according to which gypsies marry for as many years as the jug will shatter into pieces at their wedding, in fact, hardly ever existed. Even in Byzantium, the gypsies were already Christians and were married (or married in the face of the community) for life.

Gypsies in the plot of the novel

As you know, Hugo wrote his novel to draw the attention of the French to the historical value of Notre Dame Cathedral. It is almost impossible to imagine it now, but it was going to be demolished or, in extreme cases, modernized. Hugo, a great admirer of the architecture and history of Paris, decided to make readers fall in love with the cathedral as he himself loves it. And sat down at the book.

Why did he choose the end of the fifteenth century as the time of events? Why didn't he describe, for example, the history of the creation of the cathedral?

The fact is that in the nineteenth century, Europeans began to change their attitude towards small peoples from utilitarian to humanistic. Unfortunately, this had little to do with government policy, but now the indigenous inhabitants of the colonies, for example, recognized their own culture and the right to be proud of their history. The turn also influenced the attitude of Europeans towards the gypsies. If in France the antigypsy laws adopted in the Middle Ages and later were implemented so zealously that all local gypsies were destroyed, now the gypsies coming from Spain, Italy, Hungary, Bohemia aroused more curiosity. On the farms, gypsies began to be hired for seasonal work, Catholic pastors remembered that even the Inquisition considered gypsies to be good Christians, and some young ladies and ladies tried to talk morality with gypsies.

If you look back at history, then all the most famous literary works about gypsies were created precisely in the nineteenth century: Notre Dame Cathedral, Pushkin's Gypsies, and Merimee's Carmen. They began to actively draw, use as an image in songs and poetry. The gypsies seemed to the Europeans people, somehow especially close to nature and full of its original strength.

So bringing the gypsies into the story was an almost win-win way to keep the audience interested. And Hugo, from the entire history of the Middle Ages, chose the moment when the gypsies had just appeared in Europe, fleeing from the Ottomans, who were capturing Byzantium. The procession of the camp with the duke at the head was written off by him from the annals. I must say, it is still unclear who were the people who called themselves gypsy dukes. They knew many languages ​​and possessed court-level manners. These could well be representatives of the Byzantine nobility, but how did they manage to lead the gypsies? Mystery.

Hugo was wrong about something. Gypsies at that time did not have close contacts with the French criminal world and did not stop in the Court of Miracles, but outside the gates of the city, in the field. So it was more convenient to set up a camp, and there was no need for the gypsies to hide especially until the adoption of widespread laws against vagrants and nomads. On the contrary, it was in their interests to attract the curiosity of the public: they earned money from performances. Including, as the heroine of Hugo, with trained animals.

Main characters

Victor Hugo created the following well-known vivid images in his novel:

• Quasimodo- the bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, a deaf hunchback, deaf from the ringing of bells
• Claude Frollo- priest, archdeacon, rector of the Cathedral
• Phoebe de Chateaupe- captain of the royal archers
• Pierre Gringoire- poet, philosopher, playwright, later vagabond
• Clopin Trouillefou- leader of the Court of Miracles, beggar
• edit] Plot

  This article does not follow the guidelines for art articles. It does not have a complete plot description, including important plot twists and endings. You can help the project by adding this data to the article. Please, write the text yourself, and do not copy from other resources.

  By order of Cardinal Charles of Bourbon, in the central hall of the Palace of Justice ("Great Hall"), a play was to be presented with the participation of characters from the Bible, as well as ancient Roman gods - a mystery play. The play was dedicated to the then-planned marriage of the "son of the lion of France", heir to the French throne, Dauphin Charles and Margaret of Austria. After the mystery, the election of the main comedian of Paris, the buffoon's pope, was to take place.

  The cardinal and honored Flanders guests were late for the mystery, as they had been listening to the speeches of the lecturer of the university for too long. Lecturers, economists and trustees are mocked by a lazy schoolboy (student) Jean Frollo, the younger brother of one of the main characters (“And we have 4 pieces in the shop of all sorts of rubbish: 4 holidays, 4 faculties, 4 lecturers, 4 housekeepers, 4 trustees and 4 librarians!”). mystery writer, Pierre Gringoire, promised to negotiate with the cardinal and the performance began in the absence of Charles. When Charles, the ambassadors of Flanders (in particular, Guillaume Rome and Jacques Copenol) appeared, Pierre “clenched his fists in impotent rage”, because the people were no longer up to the poet’s brilliant creation. The last hope to bring the mystery to the end "scattered like smoke" when the people shouted: " Esmeralda on the square!" ran out of the palace.

  The election of the jester's pope took place - they became the hunchbacked bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral Quasimodo. Pierre fled in despair from the palace. He had nowhere to spend the night, because he expected to pay for housing with the money he received for the mystery. He decided to share the joy with the people and went to the fire in the square. There, Pierre saw a dancing girl "of such beauty that God himself would have preferred her to the Virgin Mary." After the dance, Esmeralda began to demonstrate the unusual abilities of her goat Jalli, for which Esmeralda was criticized by a priest standing in the crowd Claude Frollo, mentor of the hunchback Quasimodo. Thieves, beggars and vagabonds celebrated their new hunchbacked king. Seeing this, Claude rips off Quasimodo's clothes, takes away the scepter and takes the hunchback away.

  The gypsy collects money for her dance and goes home. Pierre follows her, hoping that, in addition to her beautiful appearance, she has a good heart, and she will help him with housing. In front of Pierre's eyes, a gypsy is kidnapped by Quasimodo and someone else with a covered face. Esmeralda is rescued by a brilliant officer Phoebe de Chateaupe. Esmeralda falls in love with him.

  Following the girl, Gringoire finds himself in the Court of Miracles, where Parisian beggars live. Clopin accuses Pierre of illegally invading the territory of the Court of Miracles and is going to hang him. The poet asks to be accepted into their community, but does not stand the difficult test; you need to pull out the wallet from the scarecrow with bells, so much so that they do not ring. In the last minutes before the execution, the beggars remembered that, according to the law, Pierre must say if there is a woman who will marry him. If there is one, the verdict is cancelled. Esmeralda agreed to become the poet's wife. He recognized her. They were "married" for 4 years. However, the girl does not let Gringoire touch her. As it turned out, Esmeralda wore an amulet, which was supposed to help her find her parents, but there was one significant “but” - the talisman only works as long as the gypsy remains a virgin.

  After the "wedding" Gringoire accompanies Esmeralda during her performances in the square. During the next dance of the gypsy, the archdeacon Frollo recognizes his student Gringoire in her new companion and begins to question the poet in detail about how he contacted the street dancer. The fact of the marriage of Esmeralda and Gringoire outrages the priest, he takes the word from the philosopher so that he does not touch the gypsy. Gringoire informs Frollo that Esmeralda is in love with a certain Phoebus and dreams of them all day and night. This news causes an unprecedented fit of jealousy in the archdeacon, he decides at all costs to find out who this Phoebus is and to find him.

  The search for Frollo is crowned with success. Driven by jealousy, he not only finds Captain Phoebus, but also inflicts a serious wound on him during his date with Esmeralda, which further antagonizes the gypsy.

  Esmeralda is accused of killing Phoebus (Claude manages to escape the scene of the crime by jumping through the window into the river), is taken into custody and tortured, unable to endure which the girl admits her "guilt". Esmeralda is sentenced to be hanged in the Place de Greve. On the night before the execution, the archdeacon comes to the girl in prison. He invites the captive to run away with him, but in anger she repels the killer of her beloved Phoebus. Even before the execution, all her thoughts are occupied by Phoebus. Fate gave her the chance to see him for the last time. He stood completely cool on the balcony of his fiancée Fleur-de-Lys's house. At the last moment, Quasimodo saves her and hides her in the cathedral.

  Esmeralda even then does not stop dreaming of the captain of the royal shooters (his wound turned out to be non-fatal), not believing that he had long forgotten her. All the inhabitants of the Court of Miracles go to rescue their innocent sister. They storm the Notre Dame Cathedral, which Quasimodo zealously defends, believing that the tramps have come to execute the gypsy. Clopin Truilfou and Jean Frollo were killed in this fight.

  When the siege of the cathedral began, Esmeralda was asleep. Suddenly, two people come to her cell: her "husband" Pierre Gringoire and a certain man in black clothes. Embraced by fear, she still follows the men. They secretly lead her out of the cathedral. Too late, Esmeralda realizes that the mysterious silent companion is none other than Archdeacon Claude Frollo. On the other side of the river, Claude asks for the last time what she chooses: to be with him or to be hanged. The girl is relentless. Then the angry priest gives her under guard to the recluse Gudula.

  The recluse is cruel and unceremonious with the girl: after all, she is a gypsy. But everything is decided in the most unusual way - it turns out that little Agnes, who was kidnapped by gypsies from Gudula (Chantfleurie's Packets) and Esmeralda, is one and the same person. Gudula promises to save her daughter and hides her in his cell. But when the guards come for the girl, Phoebe de Chateaupe is among them. In a fit of love, Esmeralda forgets about caution and calls him. All mother's efforts are in vain. Daughter is taken. She tries to the last to save her, but in the end she herself dies.

  Esmeralda is brought back to the square. Only then does the girl realize the horror of imminent death. Quasimodo, and, of course, Claude Frollo watched this tragic scene from the top of the cathedral.

  Realizing that Frollo was guilty of the death of a gypsy, Quasimodo, distraught with anger, threw his adoptive father off the top of the cathedral. Claude Frollo fell to his death. Moving his gaze from the square to the foot of the cathedral, from the body of a gypsy beating in death convulsions to the mutilated body of a priest, Quasimodo desperately shouted: “That's all that I loved!” After that, the hunchback disappeared.

  The final scene of the novel tells how two bodies were found in the tomb of the Montfaucon gallows, one of which hugged the other. They were Quasimodo and Esmeralda. When they tried to separate them, Quasimodo's skeleton crumbled to dust.

  Meaning

  The novel was written by Hugo with the intention of bringing out as the protagonist the Gothic cathedral of Paris, which at the time was about to be demolished or modernized. Following the release of the novel in France, and then throughout Europe, a movement began for the preservation and restoration of Gothic monuments (see Neo-Gothic, Viollet-le-Duc).

  Translation

  In Russian translation, excerpts from the novel appeared already in the year of its publication (in the Moscow Telegraph) and continued to be published in 1832 (in the journal Teleskop). Due to censorship obstacles, the Russian translation did not appear in full immediately. The first complete translation of Notre Dame Cathedral (probably by Yu. P. Pomerantseva) appeared in the Dostoevsky brothers' journal Vremya only in 1862, and in 1874 it was republished as a separate book. .

Musical "Notre Dame de Paris"

What does the musical Notre Dame de Paris mean to you? This most popular work left few people indifferent, it has an extraordinary bewitching power. What is his secret? Maybe it's all about the spectacular production, an extraordinary story of love and betrayal, told by the brilliant Hugo? Or is it all about amazing music, in which French chanson and gypsy motifs are intertwined? Just imagine, because this work contains 50 songs dedicated to the brightest and strongest feeling - love, and almost all of them have become real hits.

A summary of the musical "Notre Dame de Paris" and many interesting facts about this work, read on our page.

Characters	Description
Esmeralda	a beautiful gypsy who captivated the hearts of several men at once
Quasimodo	the ugly bell ringer raised by Frollo
Frollo	Archdeacon of Notre Dame Cathedral
Phoebe de Chateaupe	captain of the royal shooters, infatuated with a dancer
Clopin	Clopin
Clopin	the young bride of Phoebe de Chateaupert
Gringoire	the poet saved from death by Esmeralda

Summary

In the center of this sad story is the young beauty Esmeralda, who was raised by the gypsy king Clopin, who replaced her father and mother. Their camp makes an attempt to illegally enter Paris in order to find refuge in the Cathedral, but the soldiers notice the uninvited guests and immediately drive them away. The handsome Phoebus da Chateauper, who is the captain of the royal shooters, draws attention to the young Esmeralda. Captivated by the beauty of the girl, he completely forgets about his bride Fleur-de-Lys, to whom he is engaged.

The captain is not the only one who drew attention to the young dancer. Quasimodo also has tender feelings for her, who specially comes to the festival of jesters in order to once again admire his beloved. His stepfather and strict mentor Frollo forbids even thinking about this girl and looking at her, but does it because of intense jealousy. It turns out that the archdeacon is also in love with Esmeralda, only he does not have the right to do so.

Frolo develops an insidious plan - to kidnap the gypsy and lock her in the tower, and he tries to steal the girl under cover of night with Quasimodo, but Phoebe saves the gypsy in time. Taking advantage of the moment, the captain immediately invites the beauty on a date.

An unwitting witness to the kidnapping, as well as the brave act of the captain, is the poet Gringoire, whom the gypsy king Cloper wants to hang, for violating the rules of the camp, because he visited the Court of Miracles, and it is strictly forbidden to do this. But Esmeralda saves Gringoire and must now marry him. But the gypsy is already in love with another, with her savior, Phoebe de Chateauper.

The archdeacon keeps a close eye on Esmeralda and the captain as they go on a date, and, blinded by jealousy, lashes out at the rival. As a result, Frollo stabs Phoebus with a knife. But Esmeralda already has to pay for this crime, because it is she who is accused of attempting to kill the captain. At the trial, the gypsy tries to prove that she is innocent, but Esmeralda is not listened to and is sentenced to death.

While the girl is in prison awaiting her sentence, Frollo visits her. The archdeacon offers to save the beauty in exchange for her devotion and love, but she refuses him. Hearing this, Frollo pounces on Esmeralda, but the girl is saved in time by Clopin and Quasimodo who arrived in time. The whole camp came to help the captive, and a fight broke out between the gypsies and the royal soldiers. As a result of this collision, Clopin dies, and Esmeralda is arrested again, and Frollo himself hands her over to the executioner. In desperation, he shares this with Quasimodo, confessing that he did all this because of the beauty’s refusal, and he in anger throws the insidious Frollo off the tower, and rushes to the place of execution to enclose the already dead Esmeralda in his arms for the last time.

A photo:

Interesting Facts

• A record number of applicants came to the casting for the Russian version of the musical - about one and a half thousand, and only 45 of them were taken into the troupe.
• For the production of the Russian version, about 4.5 million dollars were spent, and 15 million were collected for the entire time of the show in the Moscow theater.
• By 2016, the total number of spectators who watched the performance around the world amounted to more than 15 million people.
• It is worth noting that the author of the famous "Notre Dame" also wrote a musical on a rather unusual Russian theme. He called this work "The Decembrists", the development of the libretto was carried out by the poet Ilya Reznik.
• Currently, a shortened version of the musical by Alexander Marakulin is on tour in our country. The artists of the troupe even became defendants in a criminal case on copyright infringement.
• In Nizhny Novgorod, a parody of the performance was staged with almost identical scenery.
• Not without some blunders in the French production of the musical. So, it was noticed that there is an inscription anarchy on the wall, although another word was originally assumed - ananke, which means rock. Already in the new Mogadorian version of the play, this word was corrected.

Popular numbers:

Belle (listen)

Dechire (listen)

Vivre (listen)

Le temps des cathedrales (listen)

History of creation

Surprisingly, this musical became popular even before its premiere due to the fact that a CD was released with recordings of some of the singles (16 songs). The presented compositions made an unprecedented sensation and rapidly began to win the hearts of the public. The premiere, which took place on September 16, 1998 in Paris at the Palais des Congrès, was a resounding success. The part of the main character was performed by Noah (recorded), and then Helen Segara, the role of Quasimodo went to Pierre Garan (Garu) , Phoebe - Patrick Fiori, Gringoire - Bruno Pelletier, Frollo - Dariel Lavoie. The director was the Frenchman Gilles Maillot, who at that time was known to the general public for his productions. In general, the performance turned out to be a little unusual, because it differed from the established format of musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Claude-Michel Schonberg: minimalist stage design, modern ballet choreography, unusual format.

Songs from the musical immediately began to lead various charts, and the most popular of them "Belle" became a real world hit. After its success in France, the musical went on its triumphal procession to other countries of the world.

In 2000, the composer created the second edition of the musical, and this version was already presented at the Mogador Theater. It was this option that was used for the Russian, Spanish, Italian, Korean and other versions.

The Russian premiere was successfully held on May 21, 2002 at the Moscow Operetta Theater. The production was directed by Wayne Fawkes, invited from the UK. When they first started working on the score, Julius Kim, who was in charge of translating the libretto, admitted that it was rather difficult to do. Moreover, not only professional poets were engaged in such a painstaking process. That is why Susanna Tsiryuk became the author of the translation of the composition “Belle”, she also owns the text for the songs “Live”, “Sing to me, Esmeralda”. But the translation of the single "My Love" was done by the schoolgirl Daria Golubotskaya. It is worth noting that in our country the performance was also promoted according to the European model: about a month before the premiere, the song “Belle” was launched on the radio station performed by Vyacheslav Petkun (Quasimodo), which immediately became popular. Elements of Western style are also present in the choreography.

In 2011, it was decided to organize an international troupe, which included artists from different countries, who made a world tour. Each time she was greeted by an enthusiastic audience and a standing ovation. Until now, this musical has been successfully performed on various stages of the world. Throughout its existence, it has been shown in 15 different countries and translated into seven languages.

Notre Dame de Paris is considered to be one of the most popular and recognized musicals among the public. Actually, it's not even surprising. He captures literally from the first second to the very curtain, does not let go of the audience. It is difficult to imagine another such most popular and recognizable work. It is even more difficult to say which of the songs written by the most popular and greatest lyricist of the Francophonie is the most beautiful, because they are all beautiful! So what does the musical Notre Dame de Paris mean to you? This is love, memories of tender feelings, sadness, seal, compassion and endless admiration for the bewitching beauty of music.

"Notre Dame de Paris"

In the back streets of one of the towers of the great cathedral, someone's long-decayed hand inscribed the word "rock" in Greek. Then the word itself disappeared. But out of it was born a book about a gypsy, a hunchback and a priest.

On January 6, 1482, on the occasion of the feast of baptism, the mystery "The Righteous Judgment of the Blessed Virgin Mary" is given in the Palace of Justice. A huge crowd gathers in the morning. Ambassadors from Flanders and the Cardinal of Bourbon should be invited to the spectacle. Gradually, the audience begins to grumble, and the schoolchildren rage the most: among them stands out the sixteen-year-old blond imp Jehan - the brother of the learned archdeacon Claude Frollo. Nervous author of the mystery Pierre Gringoire orders to begin. But the unfortunate poet is unlucky; as soon as the actors uttered the prologue, the cardinal appears, and then the ambassadors. The townspeople from the Flemish city of Ghent are so colorful that the Parisians stare only at them. General admiration is evoked by the hosiery Maitre Copinol, who, without defiance, converses in a friendly way with the disgusting beggar Clopin Trouillefou. To Gringoire's horror, the accursed Fleming honors his mystery with the last words and offers to do a much more fun thing - to elect a buffoon's pope. They will be the one who makes the most terrible grimace. Applicants for this lofty title stick their physiognomy out of the window of the chapel. The winner is Quasimodo, the ringer Notre Dame Cathedral, who does not need to grimace, he is so ugly. The monstrous hunchback is dressed in an absurd robe and carried on his shoulders in order to pass, according to custom, through the streets of the city. Gringoire is already hoping for a continuation of the ill-fated play, but then someone shouts that Esmeralda is dancing in the square - and all the remaining spectators are blown away by the wind. Gringoire, in anguish, wanders to the Place de Greve to look at this Esmeralda, and an inexpressibly lovely girl appears before his eyes - either a fairy, or an angel, who, however, turned out to be a gypsy. Gringoire, like all the spectators, is completely fascinated by the dancer, but the gloomy face of a not yet old, but already bald man stands out in the crowd: he angrily accuses the girl of witchcraft - after all, her white goat beats a tambourine with a hoof six times in response to the question of what day it is today. number. When Esmeralda begins to sing, a woman's voice full of frenzied hatred is heard - the recluse of the Roland Tower curses the gypsy offspring. At this moment, a procession enters the Place Greve, in the center of which Quasimodo flaunts. A bald man rushes towards him, frightening the gypsy, and Gringoire recognizes his teacher of sealants - father Claude Frollo. He tears off the tiara from the hunchback, tears the mantle to shreds, breaks the staff - the terrible Quasimodo falls to his knees before him. The day, rich in spectacle, comes to an end, and Gringoire, without much hope, wanders after the gypsy. Suddenly, he hears a piercing scream: two men are trying to cover Esmeralda's mouth. Pierre calls the guards, and a dazzling officer appears - the head of the royal shooters. One of the kidnappers is captured - this is Quasimodo. The gypsy does not take her enthusiastic eyes off her savior - Captain Phoebus de Chateauper.

Fate brings the ill-fated poet to the Court of Miracles - the kingdom of beggars and thieves. The stranger is seized and taken to the Altyn King, in whom Pierre, to his surprise, recognizes Clopin Trouillefou. The local customs are severe: you need to pull out the wallet from the scarecrow with bells, so much so that they do not ring - a noose awaits the loser. Gringoire, who made a real chime, is dragged to the gallows, and only a woman can save him - if there is one that she wants to take as her husband. No one coveted the poet, and he would have been swinging on the crossbar if Esmeralda had not released him out of the kindness of her soul. The emboldened Gringoire tries to claim marital rights, but the fragile songstress has a small dagger in this case - in front of the astonished Pierre, the dragonfly turns into a wasp. The ill-fated poet lies down on a skinny bedding, for he has nowhere to go.

The next day, Esmeralda's kidnapper is put on trial. In 1482 the disgusting hunchback was twenty years old, and his benefactor Claude Frollo was thirty-six. Sixteen years ago, a little freak was placed on the porch of the cathedral, and only one person took pity on him. Having lost his parents during a terrible plague, Claude was left with the baby Jean in his arms and fell in love with him with a passionate, devoted love. Perhaps the thought of his brother made him pick up the orphan, whom he named Quasimodo. Claude fed him, taught him to write and read, put him on the bells, so Quasimodo, who hated all people, was dog-like devoted to the archdeacon. Perhaps more he loved only the Cathedral - his home, his homeland, his universe. That is why he unquestioningly carried out the order of his savior - and now he had to answer for this. The deaf Quasimodo gets to the deaf judge, and it ends in tears - he is sentenced to whips and a pillory. The hunchback does not understand what is happening until they start flogging him to the hooting of the crowd. The torment does not end there: after the scourging, the good townspeople throw stones and ridicule at him. He hoarsely asks for a drink, but is answered with bursts of laughter. Suddenly, Esmeralda appears in the square. Seeing the culprit of his misfortunes, Quasimodo is ready to incinerate her with his eyes, and she fearlessly climbs the stairs and brings a flask of water to his lips. Then a tear rolls down the ugly physiognomy - the fickle crowd applauds "the majestic spectacle of beauty, youth and innocence, which came to the aid of the embodiment of ugliness and malice." Only the recluse of the Roland Tower, barely noticing Esmeralda, bursts into curses.

A few weeks later, at the beginning of March, Captain Phoebus de Chateaupere is courting his fiancee Fleur-de-Lys and her bridesmaids. For fun, for the sake of the girl, they decide to invite a pretty gypsy girl who dances on Cathedral Square into the house. They quickly repent of their intention, for Esmeralda overshadows them all with grace and beauty. She herself gazes intently at the captain, puffed up with complacency. When the goat puts the word "Phoebus" out of letters - apparently familiar to her, Fleur-de-Lys faints, and Esmeralda is immediately expelled. She also attracts the eye: Quasimodo looks at her with admiration from one window of the cathedral, Claude Frollo gloomily contemplates her from the other. Next to the gypsy, he spotted a man in a yellow-and-red tights - before she always performed alone. Going downstairs, the archdeacon recognizes his disciple Pierre Gringoire, who disappeared two months ago. Claude eagerly asks about Esmeralda: the poet says that this girl is a charming and harmless creature, a true child of nature. She keeps chastity, because she wants to find her parents through an amulet - and he allegedly helps only virgins. Everyone loves her for her cheerful disposition and kindness. She herself believes that in the whole city she has only two enemies - the recluse of the Roland Tower, who for some reason hates the gypsies, and some priest who constantly pursues her. With the help of a tambourine, Esmeralda teaches her goat tricks, and there is no witchcraft in them - it took only two months to teach her how to add the word "Phoebus". The archdeacon becomes extremely excited - and on the same day he hears how his brother Jean friendly calls out to the captain of the royal shooters by name. He follows the young rake to the tavern. Phoebus gets drunk a little less than the schoolboy, because he has an appointment with Esmeralda. The girl is so in love that she is ready to sacrifice even an amulet - since she has Phoebus, why does she need a father and mother? The captain begins to kiss the gypsy, and at that moment she sees a dagger raised above him. Before Esmeralda, the face of the hated priest appears: she loses consciousness - waking up, she hears from all sides that the sorceress stabbed the captain.

A month passes. Gringoire and the Court of Miracles are in terrible anxiety - Esmeralda has disappeared. One day, Pierre sees a crowd at the Palace of Justice - they tell him that they are trying a she-devil who killed a military man. The gypsy stubbornly denies everything, despite the evidence - a demonic goat and a demon in a priest's cassock, which was seen by many witnesses. But she cannot stand the torture with a Spanish boot - she confesses to witchcraft, prostitution and the murder of Phoebus de Chateauper. According to the totality of these crimes, she is sentenced to repentance at the portal of Notre Dame Cathedral, and then to hanging. The goat must be subjected to the same punishment. Claude Frollo comes to the casemate, where Esmeralda is looking forward to death. On his knees, he begs her to run away with him: she turned his life upside down, before meeting her he was happy - innocent and pure, lived only by science and fell, seeing the wondrous beauty that was not created for human eyes. Esmeralda rejects both the hated priest's love and his proposed salvation. In response, he angrily shouts that Phoebus is dead. However, Phoebus survived, and the fair-haired Fleur-de-Lys again settled in his heart. On the day of the execution, the lovers coo gently, looking out the window with curiosity - the jealous bride will be the first to recognize Esmeralda. The gypsy, seeing the beautiful Phoebus, falls unconscious: at that moment, Quasimodo picks her up in her arms and rushes to the Cathedral with a cry of “shelter”. The crowd greets the hunchback with enthusiastic cries - this roar reaches the Greve Square and the Roland Tower, where the recluse does not take her eyes off the gallows. The victim slipped away, hiding in the church.

Esmeralda lives in the Cathedral, but cannot get used to the terrible hunchback. Not wanting to annoy her with his ugliness, the deaf man gives her a whistle - he is able to hear this sound. And when the archdeacon pounces on the gypsy, Quasimodo almost kills him in the dark - only the ray of the moon saves Claude, who begins to be jealous of Esmeralda for the ugly ringer. At his instigation, Gringoire raises the Court of Miracles - beggars and thieves storm the Cathedral, wanting to save the gypsy. Quasimodo desperately defends his treasure - young Jean Frollo dies from his hand. Meanwhile, Gringoire'taik takes Esmeralda out of the Cathedral and involuntarily hands her over to Claude, who takes her to the Place de Grève, where he offers his love for the last time. There is no salvation: the king himself, having learned about the rebellion, ordered to find and hang the sorceress. The gypsy recoils in horror from Claude, and then he drags her to the Roland Tower - the recluse, putting her hand out from behind the bars, tightly grabs the unfortunate girl, and the priest runs after the guards. Esmeralda begs to let her go, but Paquette Chantfleurie only laughs angrily in response - the gypsies stole her daughter from her, let their offspring die now. She shows the girl her daughter's embroidered slipper - Esmeralda has exactly the same one in her amulet. The recluse almost loses her mind with joy - she has found her child, although she has already lost all hope. Too late, mother and daughter remember the danger: Paquette tries to hide Esmeralda in her cell, but in vain - the girl is dragged to the gallows, In the last desperate impulse, the mother sinks her teeth into the executioner's hand - she is thrown away, and she falls dead. From the height of the Cathedral, the archdeacon looks at the Greve Square. Quasimodo, who has already suspected Claude of kidnapping Esmeralda, sneaks after him and recognizes the gypsy - a noose is put around her neck. When the executioner jumps on the girl's shoulders, and the body of the executed woman begins to beat in terrible convulsions, the priest's face is distorted with laughter - Quasimodo does not hear him, but sees a satanic grin, in which there is nothing human anymore. And he pushes Claude into the abyss. Esmeralda on the gallows, and the archdeacon prostrate at the foot of the tower, that was all the poor hunchback loved.