Scene design by Heinrich Anton Dähling on Schiller's "Jungfrau von Orleans", Royal National Theater Berlin, 1806

Theatre & Opera / Musical

Screenwriters and plays
The figure of Jeanne d’Arc has fascinated play writers throughout the ages. The best known plays, offering widely differing interpretations of her life, were written by Shakespeare (Henry VI), Schiller (The Maid of Orleans), George Bernard Shaw (Saint Joan), Jean Anouilh (L’Alouette) and Bertolt Brecht (Saint Jeanne of the Stockyards).

* 1596: William Shakespeare, Henry VI
* 1801: Friedrich Schiller, Die Jungfrau von Orleans.
* 1923: George Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan
* 1929: Bertolt Brecht’s, Saint Jeanne of the Stockyards
* 1952: Jean Anouilh: L’Alouette (The Lark)

Saint Joan of the Stockyards

Jeanne d’Arc is Joan Dark in Saint Joan of the Stockyards, Bertolt Brecht’s first major political drama for the commercial theater. A virtuous knight in a Christian army of salvation, she makes the stockyards her field of battle when she clashes with Pierpoint Mauler, meat king and philanthropist, over the heart of business and the soul of labor. See more

Lists of the plays, and other resources on the many dramas about Jeanne d’Arc.

Operas, oratorios, and vocal works

DateTitleComposerGenreNotes
1789Giovanna d'ArcoGaetano AndreozzioperaLibretto by Antonio Simeone Sografi. Premiere given at the Teatro Nuovo Eretenio in Vicenza on 27 June 1789.
1790Jeanne d'Arc à OrléansRodolphe Kreutzeropéra comiqueLibretto by Pierre Jean Baptiste Choudard Desforges. Premiere given at the Comédie-Italienne in Paris on 10 May 1790.
1821Giovanna d'ArcoSalvatore ViganòballetPlot influenced by Schiller. Premiered at La Scala on 3 March 1821.
1821Jeanne d'Arc à OrléansMichele Carafaopéra comiqueLibretto by Emmanuel Théaulon and Armand Dartois after Schiller. Premiere given at the Théâtre Feydeau on 10 March 1821.
1825Giovanna d'ArcoGiuseppe NicolinioperaLibretto by Apostolo Zeno. Premiere given at the Teatro Regio di Torino on 22 January 1825.
1827Giovanna d'ArcoNicola VaccaioperaLibretto by Gaetano Rossi. Premiere given at La Fenice on 17 February 1827.
1830Giovanna d'ArcoGiovanni PacinioperaGaetano Barbieri after Schiller. Premiere given at La Scala on 14 March 1830.
1837Joan of ArcMichael William BalfeoperaLondon, 1837
1845Giovanna d'ArcoGiuseppe VerdioperaLibretto by Temistocle Solera after Schiller. Premiere given at La Scala on 15 February 1845.
1865Jeanne d'ArcGilbert DuprezoperaLibretto by Joseph Méry after Schiller. Premiere given in Paris on 24 October 1865.
1873–1877Jeanne d'ArcText by Jules Barbier with music by Charles Gounod.drama in 5 acts(Incidental music for Barbier's play)
1878The Maid of OrleansPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyoperaPlot influenced by Schiller.
1913Giovanna d'Arco, op.135Marco Enrico BossioratorioLibretto by Luigi Orsini after Schiller.
1921Giovanna d'ArcoAlberto PestalozzaMarionette operaLibretto by the composer after Schiller. Premiered in Turin on 17 September 1921
1939Jeanne d'Arc au BûcherText by Paul Claudel with music by Arthur Honeggerdramatic oratorioThis deeply religious portrayal ends with the founder of the Inquisition accusing Joan's judges of heresy. Performed by Marion Cotillard in 2005, 2012 and 2015.
1943Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen JohannaMusic and libretto by Walter BraunfelsOperaThe libretto is based on the actual French and Latin documents of the trial of Joan of Arc in their German translation.
1950The Triumph of St. JoanAn opera in 3 Acts by Norman Dello JoioOperaLater adapted by the composer into an opera for television (1956), a one-act opera (1959), and a symphony (1951).
1953Ballade des Dames du temps jadisMusical adaptation by Georges Brassens of a poem by François VillonArt songThough little known outside France, Brassens set a number of complex poems to music and often performed them himself.
1956Le triomphe de JeanneHenri Tomasiopera-oratorioLibretto by the composer and Philippe Soupault after Schiller. Premiere given at the Théâtre-Cirque in Rouen on 23 June 1956.
1966Choruses from The Lark, play by Jean Anouilhmusic by Leonard Bernsteinset of choral piecesPart of Bernstein's incidental score for a production of the play in an adaptation by Lillian Hellman.
1971The Survival of St. JoanText by James Lineberger; music by Hank Ruffin and Gary Ruffinrock operaDeals with a legend of Joan escaping burning and kept in the home of a shepherd.
1989Mistero e processo di Giovanna d'ArcoRoberto De SimoneMelodramaLibretto by the composer after Schiller. Premiered at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa on 26 October 1989.
1994Voices of LightRichard Einhornchoral orchestral workInspired by the 1928 film The Passion of Joan of Arc, frequently performed during screenings of the film; uses sacred texts as well as texts by various medieval mystics, including Hildegard of Bingen.
1997Jeanne, the Joan of Arc Musicaltext by Vincent de Tourdonnet; music by Peter Siposmusical theatreBased on historical research. Translated into French by Antonine Maillet renamed "Jeanne la Pucelle".