The comedie-ballet was a spectacular theatrical genre which blossomed in the first year of Louis XIV's absolute rule (1661), flourished under the friendship of king and playwright during that decade (1664-1670), and faded even as Louis turned his attention to the new French opera in the early 1670s. Though it lasted little more than a decade, it stands not only as a unique chapter in Moliere's career as a playwright but as a singular style of theatre. Focusing on the topics of male nobility and class tensions, Gretchen Smith examines a unique performance genre in a new way: through its premiere performances in the context of the places, periods, performers, and the semiotics of practical theatre. Through telling the story of the comedies-ballets, the author redefines the Baroque as an era which shaped our post-modern ideas about performance as a social as well as theatrical construct, about magnificence as a commodity and a product to be bought or exported, about the seduction of the public spotlight, and about the political outcome of patronage and art. Her analyses of staging, costume, and decor (among others) add important dimensions that are often neglected or understudied by literary scholars. Grounded in the disciplines of theatre history, literary analysis, semiotics, performance study, and gender studies, this study will also be useful for scholars French, European and early modern history and literature. It contributes much to our understanding of Moliere, the genre of the comedie-ballet, and the various layers of meaning in royal festival theater.
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About the Author
Gretchen Elizabeth Smith is Assistant Professor at the Theater Department, Southern Methodist University, USA.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In order to analyze Molière's comédies-ballets as a self-referential genre about the performance of noble masculinity, it is necessary to return to M. de Soyecourt. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
nameless actor, amants magnifiques, courtier performance, grotesque doctors, noble performers, noble masculinity, courtier audience, male nobility, courtier types, final ballet, pastoral ballet, ballet characters, noble spectators, male nobles, male courtiers, multiple casting, courtesy manuals, dramaturgical strategy, cloud machine, des maris, noble performance, court ballet, noble amateurs, bourgeois gentilhomme, temporary theatre Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
George Dandin, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, Les Amants Magnifiques, Palais Royal, Swiss Guards, Royal Actor, Mlle de Brie, Royale de Danse, L'Impromptu de Versailles, Mlle Du Parc, Mlle Hilaire, Mme de Sotenville, Nicolas Fouquet, Pierre Brissart, Royal Auteur, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Madame de Montespan, Madame de Sotenville, Carlo Vigarani, Israel Silvestre, Roi Soleil, Royale de Musique, Jean Le Pautre, Louis's Grand Divertissement Royal, Mlle de Saint-Christophe New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In order to analyze Molière's comédies-ballets as a self-referential genre about the performance of noble masculinity, it is necessary to return to M. de Soyecourt. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
nameless actor, amants magnifiques, courtier performance, grotesque doctors, noble performers, noble masculinity, courtier audience, male nobility, courtier types, final ballet, pastoral ballet, ballet characters, noble spectators, male nobles, male courtiers, multiple casting, courtesy manuals, dramaturgical strategy, cloud machine, des maris, noble performance, court ballet, noble amateurs, bourgeois gentilhomme, temporary theatre Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
George Dandin, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, Les Amants Magnifiques, Palais Royal, Swiss Guards, Royal Actor, Mlle de Brie, Royale de Danse, L'Impromptu de Versailles, Mlle Du Parc, Mlle Hilaire, Mme de Sotenville, Nicolas Fouquet, Pierre Brissart, Royal Auteur, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Madame de Montespan, Madame de Sotenville, Carlo Vigarani, Israel Silvestre, Roi Soleil, Royale de Musique, Jean Le Pautre, Louis's Grand Divertissement Royal, Mlle de Saint-Christophe New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 45
books:
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- Orlando Furioso: A Romantic Epic: Part 1 (Penguin Classics) (Pt. 1) by Ludovico Ariosto on page 61, and page 72
- The Aristocrat as Art by Domna C. Stanton in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Politics and Poetics of Transgression by Peter Stallybrass in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Patronage in the Renaissance (Folger Institute essays) by Guy Lytle in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Interpreting The Theatrical Past: Historiography Of Performance by Thomas Postlewait in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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