Roméo et Juliette

A con man plays the holy ascetic and moves into a rich household, and only the audience can see through him. Molière's comedy in verse, banned on its first run for obvious reasons.

Molière

Rodrigue must avenge his father by killing the father of the woman he loves. The play that started the great quarrel of French classical theatre.

Pierre Corneille

Four people each love someone who loves someone else, and all of them have power over each other. Racine's tragedy in alexandrines, tight and merciless.

Jean Racine

Figaro helps a count outwit an old guardian to reach the woman locked upstairs. The comedy Rossini turned into an opera, and it reads just as fast.

Beaumarchais

The prince of Denmark is told by a ghost that his uncle murdered his father, and then spends five acts deciding what to do about it. The François-Victor Hugo translation.

William Shakespeare