Mime, music and drama on the eighteenth-century stage : the ballet d'action / Edward Nye.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nye, Edward.

Contributor:

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ballet--Europe--History--18th century.

Ballet.

Theater--Europe--History--18th century.

Theater.

Pantomime--Europe--History--18th century.

Pantomime.

European drama--18th century--History and criticism.

European drama.

Music--Europe--18th century--History and criticism.

Music.

History.

Europe.

Physical Description:

xi, 326 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Summary:

"The 'ballet d'action' was one of the most successful and controversial forms of theatre in the early modern period. A curious hybrid of dance, mime and music, its overall and overriding intention was to create drama. It was danced drama rather than dramatic dance, musical drama rather than dramatic music. Most modern critical studies of the ballet d'action treat it more narrowly as stage dance and very few view it as part of the history of mime. Little use has previously been made of the most revealing musical evidence. This innovative book does justice to the distinctive hybrid nature of the ballet d'action by taking a comparative approach, using contemporary literature and literary criticism, music, mime and dance from a wide range of English and European sources. Edward Nye presents a fascinating study of this important and influential part of eighteenth-century European theatre"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part 1 The Ballet'd Action In Historical Context 7

1 The voice and the body in the Enlightenment 9

Sign language and the dogma of the voice 11

L'Epee'sinnovations 17

Theories of the origin of language 22

Warburton and hieroglyphs 24

Condillac's action language 27

Rousseau's language of the passions 30

Herder, hearing, and the gateway to the soul 34

2 A revival of ancient pantomime? 38

Differences and misunderstandings 39

The balance between mime and dance 43

The appeal to heart and mind 49

Thematic affinities 53

Origins 59

3 No place for Harlequin 62

Generic differences 63

The French foire 69

The 'arte' of expressive body language 72

The influence of reformed Commedia 76

The mixed backgrounds of choreographers 81

4 Decroux and Noverre: Distant cousins? 84

Eighteenth- and twentieth-century renewal 84

Use of the body 87

Mask and face 89

Mime and dance 92

Mime and language 95

Deprioritising language 100

Objective and subjective mime 102

Towards a vocabulary of the passions 106

Part II The Ballet D'action In Close-up Dramatic Principles 113

5 Character and action 115

An early innovator: Franchise Prevost 116

Weaver, Salle, and connected character 120

Later developments and problems 123

Literary reflections of dance and character 127

The poverty of instruction books 132

6 Dialogues in mime 140

The challenges 141

The expectations 144

The methods 147

Performative language 150

Operatic ensemble singing 154

7 Choreography is painterly drama 162

'Choregraphie': a metaphor for drama 163

'Die Corographie': a plot synopsis 168

Angiolini and Noverre's quarrels 170

From painterly to graphic 177

8 The admirable consent between music and action 185

Synchronising music and movement 188

Beyond synchronised music 193

Medee Jason 194

Medee Jason in context 204

9 Putting performance into words 208

Programmes are controversial 209

Multi-purpose programmes 211

Programmes as paratexts 216

Programmes are inherently controversial 216.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9781107005495

1107005493

OCLC:

706625333

Online:

Cover image