depicting a scene from
Daphnis and Chloe The first vernacular edition of
Daphnis and Chloe was the French version of
Jacques Amyot, published in 1559. Along with the
Diana of
Jorge de Montemayor (published in the same year),
Daphnis and Chloe helped inaugurate a European vogue for pastoral fiction in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Daphnis and Chloe was the model of
La Sireine of
Honoré d'Urfé, the
Aminta of
Torquato Tasso, and
The Gentle Shepherd of
Allan Ramsay. The novel
Paul et Virginie by
Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre echoes the same story. Jacques Amyot's French translation is perhaps better known than the original. The story has been presented in numerous illustrated editions, including a 1937 limited edition with woodcuts by
Aristide Maillol, and a 1977 edition illustrated by
Marc Chagall. Another translation that rivals the original is that of
Annibale Caro, one of those writers dearest to lovers of the Tuscan elegances. The 1952 work
Shiosai (
The Sound of Waves), written by the Japanese writer
Yukio Mishima following a visit to Greece, is considered to have been inspired by the Daphnis and Chloe myth. Another work based on it is the 1923 novel
Le Blé en herbe by
Colette.
Opera •
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier wrote a
Daphnis et Chloé pastorale in 3 acts in 1747 •
Jean-Jacques Rousseau worked on but did not finish a
pastorale heroïque under the same title between 1774 and 1776 •
Jacques Offenbach in 1860 completed a
one-act operetta based on the ancient novel
Ballet •
Maurice Ravel wrote what he called a
symphonie chorégraphique bearing the title
Daphnis et Chloé in 1912 for Sergei Diaghilev's
Ballets Russes; its choreographer that year was
Michel Fokine; at nearly sixty minutes, it is the composer's longest work, and two orchestral suites from it are regularly played • Ravel's work was choreographed by
Frederick Ashton for a staging by Sadler's Wells Ballet (now
The Royal Ballet) at Covent Garden on 5 April 1951, with
Margot Fonteyn as Chloe and
Michael Somes as Daphnis; decor was by
John Craxton •
John Neumeier choreographed the Ravel for his
Frankfurt Ballet company •
Jean-Christophe Maillot in 2010 created a contemporary and sensual choreography of 35 minutes of the Ravel for
Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo; this featured
Jeroen Verbruggen as Daphnis,
Anjara Ballesteros-Cilla as Chloe,
Bernice Coppieters as Lycenion and
Chris Roelandt as Dorcon, directed by
Denis Caïozzi and produced by
Telmondis and
Mezzo; it premiered on April 1, 2010, at the
Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and has since been broadcast internationally
Art of
Ethel Reed in costume as Chloe (c. 1895–98). •
Marc Chagall produced a series of 42 color lithographs based on the tale of Daphnis and Chloe. •
Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) published a portfolio titled
Daphnis et Chloe (1937) which features 49 woodcuts illustrating the story.
Cinema • The work was adapted into a
64-minute silent film by
Orestis Laskos in 1931, one of the first
Greek cinema classics. The movie was originally considered shocking due to the nudity in some of the scenes. • The story was the basis for the 1963 film Μικρές Αφροδίτες (
Mikres Afrodites), or
Young Aphrodites, by the Greek filmmaker
Nikos Koundouros, based on a script of
Vassilis Vassilikos. • The story was adapted into a movie in 1993 by the Russian filmmaker Yuri Kuzmenko. It starred
Lyubov Polishchuk as Daphnis' biological mother.
Radio The work was adapted into a 45-minute radio play in 2006 by
Hattie Naylor. ==Gallery==