Les trois diables
Program note
The main devil convinces Richard’s alcoholic wife to sell him her soul. An angel offers three gifts to Richard: 1) a magic chair, from which no one can stand unless given permission by Richard; 2) a magic violin, which, when played, forces everyone to dance until given permission to stop by Richard, and 3) a magic bag from which no one can escape unless given permission by Richard. Each one year and one day a devil comes and tries to leave with the wife’s soul and Richard manages to trick each devil with the angel’s gifts. When the wife dies, she goes to hell and when Richard dies, he goes to Heaven. However, he cannot live without her and goes to the underworld to save her. Exasperated, the devils let her go, together with another 100 souls.
Children’s adaptation of the fairy tale: The wife sells her soul not for alcohol, but for candy. Nobody dies, but the evil forces attack the family. The powerful love between Richard and his wife repels them and both continue to live happily.
- Alexandra Fol, Montréal, QC, Canada
August – October 2017
Movements
I – L’ivrogne vend son âme au diable The drunkard sells her soul to the devil
II – L’ange offre trois cadeaux à Richard The angel offers three gifts to Richard
III – Le premier diable et la chaise magique The first devil and the magic chair
IV – Le deuxième diable et le violon magique The second devil and the magic violin
V – Le troisième diable et la poche magique The third devil and the magic bag
VI – Les époux combattent les forces de l’enfer The spouses battle the forces of hell
VII – L’amour vainqueur Love victorious
VII – Mouvement mobile Movable movement
Original texts
This work is based on the Québecois fairy tale “Les trois diables”, as told by Paul Stevens.
The link to the full text is the following: http://touslescontes.com/biblio/conte.php?iDconte=524