- La recepción del teatro clásico español en Europa (siglos XVII-XVIII)
- Edited by Fausta Antonucci, Salomé Vuelta García
Lope de Vega’s La hermosa Ester: a heroine on the Dutch stage
- Frans Blom
- Olga van Marion
- © 2026 Author(s) |
- CC BY 4.0
- DOI: 10.36253/979-12-215-0857-4.25
Several recent studies on Amsterdam’s Grand City Theater (the Schouwburg, est. 1637) have focused on transnational adaptations of Spanish comedias in the Dutch repertory, analyzing ways of transfer, marketing, artistic translation and adaptation, popularity and impact on Dutch theatre life. Building on these new insights, this contribution centers on Lope de Vega’s biblical comedia of La hermosa Ester and its transfer from the Iberian tradition to the Dutch stage in Amsterdam, where the play premiered in 1659 as Hester. Bringing to life the story of the Jewish exile in Persia, the play stands out for its theme of deliverance and for its female heroism. The article’s arguments is that Lope’s play spoke to the people in the Jewish refugee community of Amsterdam just as much as to the Christian people in Dutch society. Moreover, the heroine protagonist was key to its popularity, exploiting the theatre’s recent innovation of female actors and, thus, appealing to a more diverse audience.
- Keywords:
- Transnational Theatre,
- Comedia adaptation,
- Amsterdam Grand Theatre (Schouwburg),
- Female Actors,
- Lope de Vega,
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands - ORCID: 0000-0002-2175-451X
Leiden University, Netherlands - ORCID: 0000-0001-5188-2822
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Chapter Information
Chapter Title
Lope de Vega’s La hermosa Ester: a heroine on the Dutch stage
Authors
Frans Blom, Olga van Marion
Language
Ukrainian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0857-4.25
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Bibliographic Information
Book Title
La recepción del teatro clásico español en Europa (siglos XVII-XVIII)
Editors
Fausta Antonucci, Salomé Vuelta García
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
300
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0857-4
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0856-7
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0857-4
Series Title
Moderna/Comparata
Series ISSN
2704-5641
Series E-ISSN
2704-565X