Performing Premodernity on Stage: Rousseau’s Theatre
During the past five years, the research project Performing Premodernity has executed academic and artistic research concerning theatre and opera ideals, practices and discourses in the later half of the eighteenth century. Through historiographical praxeology and historically informed workshops the research group of six persons has, on the one hand, developed a new methodology for research on historical stage art (see the coming publication Performing Premodernity: Practical approaches to eighteenth century theatre), and has on the other hand produced new knowledge about various works, authors and stages from the era of Enlightenment (see for example Rousseau on Stage: Playwright, Musician, Spectator, eds. Maria Gullstam and Michael O’Dea (Oxford, 2017), and The Theatre of Drottningholm – Then and Now, by Willmar Sauter and David Wiles (Stockholm, 2015) etc.) During the project, the members have also developed research-based performances, which have gotten a lot of positive feedback from the research world, as well as the public. The research group would now like to spread and demonstrate the obtained results to a wider audience, by means of a lecture series by the project members, in combination with a series of performances of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s melodrama Pygmalion (1762/1770) together with his opera Le Devin du Village (1752), which both have been central study objects during the research project.
Final report
The research group Performing Premodernity carried out the planned communication project "Premodernity on stage: Rousseau's theater" in 2018 and 2019. Since 2013, the group has conducted academic and artistic research on 18th century theater and opera ideals and practices. In order to spread and demonstrate the group's research results to a wider audience, we have through the communication project produced a lecture series in combination with a series of research-based performances of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's melodrama Pygmalion (1762/1770) and his opera Le Devin du Village (1752) at Confidencen , Ulriksdals slottsteater. The work was prepared in 2018 where group members conducted in-depth preparatory talks and discussions based on previous research results together with performing artists, theater, musicians and tailors; Maria Gullstam who wrote her dissertation on Rousseau's theatrical aesthetics, Mark Tatlow who was the artistic and musical director of the production, and Petra Dotlacilová who wrote her dissertation on 18th century stage costumes all had a leading role in this work. Two of the actors with the most significant roles, João Luís Paixão and Laila Cathleen Neuman, are both doctoral students in artistic research and have therefore contributed a lot to the project. The performance, with introductory lectures by Willmar Sauter, Maria Gullstam and Petra Dotlacilová, was performed a total of four times in 2019 at Confidencen. The lectures focused partly on Performing Premodernity's previous research in general and on how to combine academic and artistic research, and partly on the specific work behind the production at Confidencen.
The first performance took place on June 8, 2019 in connection with an international conference on "Jean-Jacques Rousseau and aesthetic experience: Art - Nature - Politics" (also funded by RJ) with about 40 international Rousseau researchers in the audience. This was followed by three performances on 24-25 September, two for the public and a school performance for children in middle school. Students from art schools such as the Little Academy and the Ballet Academy were also invited to the two concluding public performances.
The event was well received by the general public and the research world, as well as school audiences. The performance was also noticed with reviews in both DN and Aftonbladet, and Maria Gullstam wrote an article about the production in Confidencen's yearbook which is sent to the theater's members.
The first performance took place on June 8, 2019 in connection with an international conference on "Jean-Jacques Rousseau and aesthetic experience: Art - Nature - Politics" (also funded by RJ) with about 40 international Rousseau researchers in the audience. This was followed by three performances on 24-25 September, two for the public and a school performance for children in middle school. Students from art schools such as the Little Academy and the Ballet Academy were also invited to the two concluding public performances.
The event was well received by the general public and the research world, as well as school audiences. The performance was also noticed with reviews in both DN and Aftonbladet, and Maria Gullstam wrote an article about the production in Confidencen's yearbook which is sent to the theater's members.