Rev.E. Revolution and Empire. Evolution of the dramatic art and cultural policies between the end of French Revolution and the Imperial era

Project Information

Rev.E

Grant agreement ID: 895913

DOI

10.3030/895913

Project closed

EC signature date 29 April 2020

Start date 28 September 2020

End date 27 September 2022

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 212 933,76

EU contribution

€ 212 933,76

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Rev.E (Rev.E. Revolution and Empire. Evolution of the dramatic art and cultural policies between the end of French Revolution and the Imperial era)

Reporting period: 2020-09-28 to 2022-09-27

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Theatre belongs to the literary domain while having specific creative aspects that binds it to its socio-historical context. It is one of the most effective collective expressions of society, especially in the considered period (1789-1815), when dramatic fiction reflected and contributed to shaping an “esprit collectif”. Its analysis permits a still topical reflection on collective and institutional mechanisms of control of the freedom of art (and press). The project studied the French production of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period with a particular focus on the interconnections between cultural policies and arts de la scene, a still actual topic. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the analysis of dramatic production has permitted to move beyond a form of textual interpretation. We could therefore enhance critical reflection on a quite neglected production while contributing to define a more scientific and unitary vision of the evolution of aesthetic and dramatic art.
Rev.e project had two objectives. First, the reconstruction of a missing calendar of the Parisian theatrical repertory during the Consulate (November 1799-May 1804). All collected data will be published in a freely accessible online database to partially solve the current lack of reliable and easily available data by supplying a clear mapping of the repertory (the scarcity of available data has strongly limited the development of critical studies). The reconstruction of the dramatic calendar of the Consulate has been established on the basis of the scrutiny of primary materials and the results will be published online starting from February 2023.
Second, the project has investigated the existing relationships between the theatrical landscape and the broader social and political circumstances. Theatre has been analysed in its interconnections with History and cultural policies to enhance critical reflection on a neglected production through the adoption of an original interdisciplinary approach taking into consideration historical, political and literary aspects to permit the deepening of our understanding of the dramatic production. As an example, the conference Les masques de l'Empereur (2021) focused on the different reception of Napoleon's image as represented in dramatic art, engravings, etc., while the final conference Vie des théatres et poésie dramatique du Consulat à la restauration (1799-1823) focused on textual, scenic, performative aspects relied to the development of different genres. As for public engagement and outreach activities, we wanted to let non specialists know more about the Napoleonic period and its artistic production at the occasion of the bicentenary of Napoleon's death (May 2021) and beyond. To do so, we organised and led many public talks, staged a coeval melodrama and organised the exposition "Costuming the Consulate and the Empire".

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In spite of the difficulties relied to the pandemic, we could gather all testimony deriving from the scrutiny of coeval press (critical reviews, indication of the daily performances) about the Consulate. After data collection, the calendar has been established by comparing the indications of the “spectacles” section of different periodicals. Data has first been organized in an excel spreadsheet presenting information about title (and subtitle if existing), author(s), genre, date of performance (revolutionary and gregorian), eventual notes, the indication of the link to the digitised text (where existing on Gallica or Google Books), the date and place of the first performance if known, the edition of the play. We have found more data than expected : periodicals list between 30 and 40 plays per day. Data has been progressively cleaned and checked and then transferred into the dataset, which was conceived and designed (cfr. https://borek.lnx.warwick.ac.uk/) together with Steve Ranford and Godwin Yeboah from Warwick DH team. The dataset will be published in open access in February 2023 (and on Zenodo repository). At first, it will present data concerning the first Consulate year and it will be progressively populated. As for the second objective (the enhancement of critical reflection on coeval dramatic art) and the dissemination of the project’s results, we can list the organisation of 4 academics seminars (Les Masques de L'Empereur, Warwick, 2021, published in 2021; Immagini di Napoleone in Europa, Verona, 2021; La vie théatrale du moment 1800, rémanences et révolutions, Saint-Etienne, 2022; Le théatre de la période napoléonienne: considérations et representation, Genova, 2022), an international two-day conference (Vie des théatres et poésie dramatique du Consulat à la restauration (1799-1823), Warwick in Venice, 2022, to be published in January 2023), an exhibition of Napoleonic costume sketches at Porchester Castle (July-September 2022), 2 staging of La moglie di due mariti, a coeval melodrama (Genova, 24.05.2022; Verona, 28.05.2022). Several public talks for non specialists have also contributed to a better knowledge of a still quite unknown dramatic production. Moreover, 2 academic essays have been published (cf. RIEF. Revue Italienne d'Etudes Françaises, 2021) and 3 have been submitted (one to Sig.Ma Rivista di Letterature comparate, Teatro e Arti dello spettacolo; one in the final conference's proceedings scheduled to be published on Publif@rum in January 2023, one to anthologydigitalpublishing).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Theatrical production of the considered period had been neglected because of prevailing “romantic” ideas of literary quality that penalized plays considered too politically oriented or not revolutionary enough from a poetic and aesthetic point of view. In the years after 1989, academics mainly focused on the period 1791-1794. The subsequent years remain massively underresearched also because of the scarcity of available data. The online publication of the abovementioned calendar represents a major progress and will be very useful for all researchers while contributing to enhance future studies. The final conferences's proceedings represent also a progress: contributions have considered many aspects of the dramatic production of these seminal years, focusing on many aspects of the theatrical fact (the aestetic of genre, the development of specialistic press, the theatrical reception and development ouside Paris, the evolution of the Comédie-Française and its actors,...). If academic impact will be more evident after the publication of the dataset (February 2023) and of the conference's proceedings (January 2023), the impact of the project is already evident if we consider the dissemination for a non specialistic audience. Talks about Napoleon were quite appreciated and permitted to present less known aspects of the Emperor's figure in the bicentenary of his death. The staging of a coeval melodrama (La moglie di due mariti by Pixérecourt, 1802) in Genova and Verona was quite a challenge (the play hadn't been staged for nearly 200 years) and was the result of the cooperation between academics and theatre professionals, representing a good example of research as practice truly appreciated by the audience (the performances went sold out in Genova and Verona) while permitting to show what a melodrama looked like and defying some critical prejudices: a Nineteeenth-century play can still touch and be appreciated by a modern audience.

Staging La moglie di due mariti by Pixérecourt (Verona, May 2022)

May 2022: full program of talks, conference, staging the melodrama (Genova, Venezia, verona)

Banners exposed at Porchester Castle

Banners exposed at Porchester Castle

Advertising Material for the performance (Verona)

Advertising material for the performance (Genova)

Banners exposed at Porchester Castle

Banners exposed at Porchester Castle

Staging La moglie di due mariti by Pixérecourt (Verona, May 2022)

Staging Pixerécourt's melodrama (Genova, may 2022)

Banners exposed at Prochester Caste during the summer 2022

Banners exposed at Porchester Castle