Later that year, the play was performed in Paris at the Theatre de Mathurins on Dec. 28, 1905, with music by Jean Nouguès, featuring Mme.

Believing that any actor, due to the limitations of his physical mannerisms and expressions, was unable to portray the symbolic figures of his plays, Maeterlinck decided that marionettes were an excellent alternative.

[1] This was the first time Maeterlinck had represented death in the form of a woman (The Queen) rather than a male figure or mysterious force.

[2] Also for the first time, marking a transition in his work, Maeterlinck had his protagonist actively struggle against fate rather than passively or helplessly give in.

The English conductor Lawrance Collingwood wrote an opera based on the play, which was premièred in London in April 1950.