Beyond the Dogma of a ‘National Style’: Dance-Type Narration in Stanislaw Moniuszko’s Operas

• Main Author: Zieziula Grzegorz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sciendo 2018-12-01
• Series: Musicology Today
• Subjects: stanisław moniuszko; maribeth clark; jean-marie pradier; 19th-century opera; salon dances
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2478/muso-2018-0006

A privileged position in discourse on 19th-century opera is occupied by narration concerning the emancipation of national styles. In order to work out a fresh approach in scientific study of this subject, it seems crucial that we should abandon the ethnocentric perspective. This was one of the main postulates of Jean-Marie Pradier’s utopian project of ethnoscenology. Importantly, Pradier also stressed the physical aspect of all stage practice. In the times of Rossini, Verdi, Gounod and Moniuszko, the physicality of the spectacle was associated not only with singing, but also with choreography. The links between 19th-century opera and its broadly conceived dance component are the subject of a highly inspiring essay by Maribeth Clark, whose arguments, theses and conclusions we also present here in detail.