Theatrical Politics in Ancien Regime France: Music, Genre, and Meaning at the Parisian Fair Theaters, 1678–1723

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Paffett, Erik Matthew
Language:	English
Published:	University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK 2020
Subjects:	Music Parisian fair theaters fair theaters historiography
Online Access:	http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1595845736008434

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spelling	ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-ucin15958457360084342021-08-03T07:16:02Z Theatrical Politics in Ancien Regime France: Music, Genre, and Meaning at the Parisian Fair Theaters, 1678–1723 Paffett, Erik Matthew Music Parisian fair theaters fair theaters historiography The theatrical genre comedie en vaudevilles, comprising newly-written texts set to pre-existing popular songs, enjoyed tremendous popularity at the Parisian trade fair theaters in the early eighteenth century. Because of problems stemming from its historiography, the comedie en vaudevilles has not always been clearly distinguished from the later (post-1760) genre opera-comique. Inclined to understand French theatrical genres within evolutionary frameworks amid largescale nationalist efforts to rediscover France’s cultural past, scholars in the nineteenth century began to consider the comedie en vaudevilles as a primitive or lesser form of opera-comique. Francois-Joseph Fetis sought opera-comique’s origins in medieval theatrical traditions, while others turned to the comedies-ballets of Moliere and Lully. Others still pointed to the farcical, acrobatic comedies of the fair theaters in the seventeenth century. In the first part of this study, I demonstrate how the comedie en vaudevilles and other works of the fair theaters have been considered a lesser theatrical form, tracing misconceptions about the genre back to nineteenth-century writings. Here, I also examine an overlooked set of librettos and other primary sources to suggest that the seventeenth-century repertory of the fair theaters does not foreshadow, anticipate, or resemble the comedie en vaudevilles of the early eighteenth century. Instead this repertory functions similarly to that of the contemporaneous genres of the royal theaters in seeking to reinforce the authority of the monarchy and to glorify its accomplishments. I also argue that the first comedies en vaudevilles were not the creation of a singular author’s hand, but rather were the result of a gradual process of appropriating and adapting pre-existing theatrical traditions. Prior to Lesage’s debut at the fair theaters in 1713, the sung vaudeville form had already emerged in the early repertory of the fair theaters during the years 1709–1712. The theatrical legacy of the Italian commedia dell’arte also left an indelible imprint on the repertory of the fair theaters. The stock characters, comic lazzi routines, obscene humor, and comic violence were an integral feature of the fair theater repertory throughout the eighteenth century. In the second part of this study, I demonstrate that by the time of the Regency (1715–1723) the comedie en vaudevilles was definitively not a primitive or lesser form of opera-comique nor a simplistic genre for an uneducated class. On the contrary, it was a complex, intertextual genre intended for an audience well-versed in theatrical politics, current events, music, literature, and a range of different subjects. It is in these works that the traditions of satire and parody are combined with theatrical polemics. As case studies, I analyze the satirical commentary, techniques of parody, theatrical polemics, and processes of musical borrowing in two comedies en vaudevilles from the years 1718–1721, to show how these works may have been received by audiences. 2020-10-22 English text University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1595845736008434 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1595845736008434 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection	NDLTD
language	English
sources	NDLTD
topic	Music Parisian fair theaters fair theaters historiography
spellingShingle	Music Parisian fair theaters fair theaters historiography Paffett, Erik Matthew Theatrical Politics in Ancien Regime France: Music, Genre, and Meaning at the Parisian Fair Theaters, 1678–1723
author	Paffett, Erik Matthew
author_facet	Paffett, Erik Matthew
author_sort	Paffett, Erik Matthew
title	Theatrical Politics in Ancien Regime France: Music, Genre, and Meaning at the Parisian Fair Theaters, 1678–1723
title_short	Theatrical Politics in Ancien Regime France: Music, Genre, and Meaning at the Parisian Fair Theaters, 1678–1723
title_full	Theatrical Politics in Ancien Regime France: Music, Genre, and Meaning at the Parisian Fair Theaters, 1678–1723
title_fullStr	Theatrical Politics in Ancien Regime France: Music, Genre, and Meaning at the Parisian Fair Theaters, 1678–1723
title_full_unstemmed	Theatrical Politics in Ancien Regime France: Music, Genre, and Meaning at the Parisian Fair Theaters, 1678–1723
title_sort	theatrical politics in ancien regime france: music, genre, and meaning at the parisian fair theaters, 1678–1723
publisher	University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK
publishDate	2020
url	http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1595845736008434
work_keys_str_mv	AT paffetterikmatthew theatricalpoliticsinancienregimefrancemusicgenreandmeaningattheparisianfairtheaters16781723
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Theatrical Politics in Ancien Regime France: Music, Genre, and Meaning at the Parisian Fair Theaters, 1678–1723

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