The ‘Revolutionary Opéra-Comique in Scandinavia’ project studied the circulation of opéra-comique in Scandinavia in the 18th and 19th centuries, combining musical and literary approaches. The project started with an examination of the position of the musical and theatrical genre of opéra-comiqu in France by the time of the French Revolution. It was essential to have a precise inventory of the situation in France at the end of the 18th century at the outset of the project in order to understand what happened in Northern Europe when the new genre expanded from Paris to Scandinavia. In Paris, it was administered by the singers, who took decisions as a body of business partners. Indeed, they were, as individuals, behind many of the decisions that led to its aesthetical specificities. However, some of these artists also traveled abroad, for instance to Scandinavia. Here, they contributed to the establishment abroad of the typically French operatic genre which they had taken part in shaping in Paris during a period of particularly strong political tension in Europe, originating precisely from that French capital where this opera genre had played such a crucial political role. The project therefore asked key questions of aesthetics and politics on the adaptation and modification of this repertoire in its Scandinavian context.
The research results have been shared over 17 (and three forthcoming) publication and dissemination channels that have allowed for a particularly broad communication. This has especially involved institutions that work at the crossroads of academia and performance, or what is often referred to as ‘historically informed’ performance practice. In addition to this, the project included participation in numerous academic events, allowing for dissemination to an extended network for scholars. This has enabled contact with a large audience of experts leading to invitations to other scientific events in Europe. In addition to this the project aimed to reach a wider audience and to share results linking fundamental research with bodies within performance industry. The project benefited from the opportunity to advice stagings of opéra-comique pieces which actually circulated between France and Scandinavia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Two opéras-comiques in particular were performed by a Norwegian period instrument orchestra, Orkester Nord: Le Peintre amoureux de son modèle et Les Deux chasseurs et la laitière, both by the composer Egidio Duni. The works were staged in French and in Scandinavian adaptation using an eighteenth-century translation of the works kept at the Gunners Library (Trondheim, Norway). They were also recorded for one of the most significant French record labels. The recording allowed for an extraordinarily wide dissemination of the results from the project. A number of publications have been written in order to secure academic dissemination: one monography, one critical edition, three journal articles, four book chapters and one book review.
