The Miser

Venue: Room A - The stingy Harpagon has been widowed for many years and has two grown children. Elise and Cléante suffer from their father's austerity: In order to be able to buy clothes, they either have to win money gambling or borrow it somewhere. Both siblings are in love: Elise with Valère, who works for her father, Cléante with the neighbor Marianne. The couples need money to pay for their weddings and start living together. Elise and Cléante reluctantly approach their father to ask him for assistance. But Harpagon has completely different concerns: He has buried a cash box in the garden and is now afraid that it could be stolen. At the same time, he has made plans himself: If Elise marries the old but rich merchant Anselme and Cléante a wealthy widow, then Harpagon could marry the penniless Marianne. Elise and Cléante decide to defend themselves against their tyrannical father for the first time in their lives and start dreaming up intrigues that are becoming ever more complicated and intricate.