Lope de Vega’s La hermosa Ester: a heroine on the Dutch stage

Abstract

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.