| Popis: |
The repertory of the Comédie-Italienne in the last two decades of the seventeenth century, as recorded by Evaristo Gherardi’s 'Le Théâtre italien', documents numerous references to the operatic world, both French and Italian. Notwithstanding privilege-related restrictions, the Italians could rely on the resources of a troupe trained in instrumental, vocal, and choreographic practice. The influence of French opera, however, extended further than a pattern of references to airs from famous works, to the point of encompassing dramatic situations and images associated with them. This paper aims to understand the modes of appropriation of operatic topoï at several levels: musical on the one hand, spectacular and theatrical on the other. The former, through an analysis of the works sung, makes it possible to assess the musical savoir-faire of the Italians compared to that of the Opéra; the other two, through a process of reinvention, contributed to the definition of a set of images specific to the Comédie-Italienne, resulting in stage situ-ations relating to the world of opera. |
