The project is devoted to studying the birth and development of opera in France, as well as the complex relationship between the Académie royale de musique, an emblematic institution linked to the shaping of the genre, and the Court, where the genre flourished in parallel, often in close association with the Parisian institution. This project takes several forms and touches particularly on the study of the following elements: musical and scenic practices; artistic and administrative operations; relations with Parisian theatres, the provinces and abroad; and relations with those in power.
Main projects
- 2021: preparatory research workshop for the publication of "The Fashioning of French Opera (1672-1791). Identity, Production, Networks" (Brepols, 2023), dir. B. Nestola, B. Dratwicki, J. Dubruque, T. Leconte
- 2023: international symposium L'opéra de cour en France (XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles). Goût, espaces, pratiques (Versailles, CMBV), under the direction of B. Nestola and T. Soury (Université Lumière Lyon 2). Soury (Université Lumière Lyon 2). Symposium proceedings to be published in 2025
- 2025: preparatory research workshop for the publication of "Performing Lully's Operas during the Reign of Louis XIV" (Brepols, forthcoming), directed by B. Nestola and B. Dratwicki
- 2025, forthcoming: publication as a PDF digital book of a critical edition of the Histoire de l'Académie royale de musique (HARM) by the Parfaict brothers, dir. L. Guillo and J.-Ph. Goujon (University of Perpignan)
From libretto to stage. The Académie royale de musique from its origins to Rameau - documentary database
(B. Nestola)
This data base uses opera librettos as a reference to shed light on French operatic practices in the 17th and 18th centuries, with a view to performance revivals. The systematic approach used by Ballard in his Recueil général des opéras (16 volumes published between 1703 and 1745) provides very useful research material. It contains 132 librettos of works performed at the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris, from Pomone by Perrin & Cambert in 1671 to Castor et Pollux by Bernard & Rameau in 1737.
The data base may be used by opera students and researchers as well as stage directors, choreographers, stage designers and performers involved in reviving baroque stage productions.
Theatre, opera and choreography troupes in France
Programme MoDERATORS Suzanne Rochefort (Université de Lorraine) Julia Gros de Gasquet (Université Sorbonne-Nouvelle) Emanuele De Luca (Université Côte d’Azur) Benoît Dratwicki [...]
17th & 18th century Court Opera
Knowledge about French opera has considerably improved over the last few decades, thanks to numerous research projects which have since become reference works. However, researchers have tended to focus [...]