Ballet and Opera in the Age of Giselle

Marian Smith

Published by Princeton University Press 2000

Ballet and Opera in the Age of Giselle

Marian Smith

Volume 21 in the series Princeton Studies in Opera

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400832477

Overview
Contents

About this book

Marian Smith recaptures a rich period in French musical theater when ballet and opera were intimately connected. Focusing on the age of Giselle at the Paris Opéra (from the 1830s through the 1840s), Smith offers an unprecedented look at the structural and thematic relationship between the two genres. She argues that a deeper understanding of both ballet and opera--and of nineteenth-century theater-going culture in general--may be gained by examining them within the same framework instead of following the usual practice of telling their histories separately. This handsomely illustrated book ultimately provides a new portrait of the Opéra during a period long celebrated for its box-office successes in both genres.

Smith begins by showing how gestures were encoded in the musical language that composers used in ballet and in opera. She moves on to a wide range of topics, including the relationship between the gestures of the singers and the movements of the dancers, and the distinction between dance that represents dancing (entertainment staged within the story of the opera) and dance that represents action. Smith maintains that ballet-pantomime and opera continued to rely on each other well into the nineteenth century, even as they thrived independently. The "divorce" between the two arts occurred little by little, and may be traced through unlikely sources: controversies in the press about the changing nature of ballet-pantomime music, shifting ideas about originality, complaints about the ridiculousness of pantomime, and a little-known rehearsal score for Giselle.
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Author / Editor information

Marian Smith is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Oregon.

Reviews

"Now that opera studies have finally recognized the importance of the visual, a book that reveals the web of reciprocities that existed between ballet and opera during a particularly lively period in the history of both will undoubtedly find a wide readership. The information, presented here through judicious examples chosen from both repertoires, is utterly fascinating and brand new."—Rebecca Harris-Warrick, Cornell University

"An informative and enjoyable read for both scholars and nonspecialists, whether in dance or in opera. Marian Smith's views are refreshingly new and show unknown facets of the Romantic ballet, discussed with admirable accuracy. Works that survived only as exotic or mysterious titles in dance history manuals thus regain their long lost identities and their historical significance. Those who work in the field of dance reconstruction will especially benefit from this book."—Giannandrea Poesio, University of Surrey

"Marian Smith's book is a swift and easy read, fully researched, informative, genuinely insightful about her subject. Definitely one for the bookshelf."---David Blewitt, Opera Now

"To readers interested in the evolution of opera and ballet performance practice, Smith's meticulously documented study offers a chance to see many familiar works in a new and surprising light."---M. Lignana Rosenberg, Opera News

"Winner of the 2001 De la Torre Bueno Prize for Most Distinguished Book in Dance Scholarship, Dance Perspectives Foundation (New York)"

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
List of Tables and Illustrations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xix
Note to the Reader: A Few Terms Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xxi
Chapter One. Introduction: Music and the Story Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter Two. A Family Resemblance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
Chapter Three. The Lighter Tone of Ballet-Pantomime Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	59
Chapter Four. Ballet-Pantomime and Silent Language Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	97
Chapter Five. Hybrid Works at the Opéra Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
Chapter Six. Giselle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
Appendix One. Ballet-Pantomimes and Operas Produced at the Paris Opera, 1825 -1850 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	201
Appendix Two. The Giselle Libretto Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
Appendix Three. Sources for Musical Examples Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	301