The Theatre of Drottningholm - Then and Now

Performance between the 18th and 21st centuries
Erscheinungsjahr 2015
ISBN: 978-91-87235-92-4
Verlag: University of Exeter Press

Buch, Format (B × H): 212 mm x 240 mm

The Theatre of Drottningholm – Then and Now tells the story of the Drottningholm Court Theatre from 1766 – the year it was built – to today’s performances presented during the annual summer festivals. The court theatre was rarely used after Gustav III’s death in 1792 until it was rediscovered in 1921. The twentieth-century restoration uncovered the almost perfectly preserved stage machinery, painted flats and backdrops, from which much is learned about the staging practices of Baroque theatre and opera.

This book provides a vivid picture of the Drottningholm Court Theatre: the architecture, the many different activities which took place here during the Gustavian era, the historical context within which the theatre operated, the staging practices as learned through the restored theatre, and the use made of the theatre since its rediscovery to explore the nature of Baroque performance. This well-written survey of Drottningholm is a reliable and detailed record of the theatre, accessible to the interested reader and theatre historians alike.

Beautifully illustrated with full-colour images of modern productions performed at the theatre as well as paintings and sketches from its 18th-century heyday, the appendices contain primary source material about Drottningholm, available for the first time in English. Also included are complete lists of repertoire performed in the Gustavian period and since 1922.

Thomas Postlewait writes in his preface:

“This fine book thus meets the needs of several types of readers. It serves those summer visitors who want a well-written and accessible survey of Drottningholm that provides a reliable and detailed record of their immediate experiences; it serves practitioners of theatre and opera who want to understand the challenges of crafting successful performances for this specific site and its special audiences; it serves teachers of theatre and opera who want a solid historical record of this theatre, including its architectural features and staging practices; and it serves theatre scholars who require an accurate and fully engaged study of one of the few remaining theatres from the Enlightenment era. To their credit, Sauter and Wiles address each of these potential readers. They invite us, chapter by chapter, to experience the historical context and artistic qualities of Drottningholm Theatre.”

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sauter, Willmar

Wiles, David

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikgattungen Opernmusik
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Theaterwissenschaft Theater: Technik, Bühnentechnik, Einrichtung
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface

Acknowledgements

1. The Rediscovery of the Drottningholm Court Theatre Willmar Sauter

2. A Guided Tour of the Theatre Willmar Sauter

3. A Visit to the Opera at Drottningholm: First Impressions David Wiles

4. Eighteenth Century Court Life Willmar Sauter

5. A Typical 'Baroque' Theatre? David Wiles

6. Drottningholm in the Twentieth Century and Beyond Willmar Sauter

7. Eighteenth-Century Acting: The Search for Authenticity David Wiles

8. Towards the Future Willmar Sauter & David Wiles

Appendices

Supplements to the regulations of the Royal Theatre (1779)

Dutchess Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta's letter to Princess Sofia Albertina (1783)

C.F Adelcrantz' Memorandum (1794)

'Summerfestival at Drottningholm' (R. Englaender, 1948)

'Wonderful vibrant Cosi fan tutte' (Leif Aare, 1962)

'Mozart: Earthy and Brilliant' (Carl-Gunnar Ahlen, 1979)

Notes

Bibliography

List of Illustrations

List of Repertoire During Gustavian Period

List of Repertoire Since 1922

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Willmar Sauter is Professor of Theatre Studies at Stockholm University. He is a former Dean of Humanities and Head of the Research School of Aesthetics at the university, and a former President of the International Federation for Theatre Research. He has served on the board of the Drottningholm Theatre Foundation.

He has written extensively on theatre history and performance methods, often focusing on the complex relationship between theatrical presentation and perceptions. As part of this interest, Sauter has conducted and published a series of surveys since 1980 on Drottningholm audience members. His publications include The Theatrical Event (2000), which is used as a classroom text in many countries.

David Wiles is Professor of Drama at the University of Exeter. He was previously Professor of Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London and was Virginia C. Gildersleeve Visiting Professor at Barnard College, University of Columbia.

His main historical areas of specialism have been the theatres of Greece and Elizabethan England, focusing on themes such as performance space, masked acting, festival and the function of theatre in society. His next major research project is a study of classical acting, investigating how the works of antiquity provided actors for many centuries with a language through which they could articulate debates about the craft of acting; he aims to challenge the idea that important debates about acting only began with Stanislavski.