"Tonight, in the Grand Théâtre…": The reconstruction of the calendar of theatrical performances in Antwerp between 1680 and 1795 01/01/2012 - 31/12/2012

Abstract

This project will result in the creation of an annotated database or calendar of all the secular, mainly commercial theatrical performances organised in Antwerp between 1680 and 1795. This database will be supplemented by transcriptions of hitherto unknown letters written by the theatre impresarios or directors of the various companies. This research project supports and is closely linked with the postdoctoral research project "The business of performance: Theatre impresarios and the dramatic repertoire in the Southern Netherlands between 1680 and 1795".

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  • Research Project

The "business of performance": Theatre impresarios and the dramatic repertoire in the Southern Netherlands between 1680 and 1795. 01/10/2011 - 30/09/2014

Abstract

For the first time in a study of the late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century theatre and opera life in Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp, emphasis will be placed on the role of the impresario and on the effects of the "business of performance" (i.e. the way theatres were run and drama was produced and performed) on the repertoire. By doing so I will answer such questions as: What motivated impresarios to run a theatre? What aesthetic/literary aspirations did they hope to realize and how did financial motivations influence artistic decisions? What can the role of the impresarios tell us about the alleged cultural (literary) crisis experienced by the Southern Netherlands? What was the status of the surprisingly significant number of female impresarios? What kind of plays and librettos did these impresarios commission? How was foreign repertoire adapted to appeal to a local audience and local authorities? How did local playwrights react? And finally, how did satirical plays portray the impresarios?

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  • Research Project

The functioning of drama in an early modern city: The relationship between the design and the repertoire of the Antwerp theatres between 1610 and 1746/1762. 01/10/2009 - 30/09/2011

Abstract

The project studies the organized theatre life in Antwerp between 1610 and 1746, while focusing on the relation between repertoire and playhouse/theatre. The research of historical theatres is often limited to either the drama texts (the plays) or the buildings (including the theatrical equipment). Neither approaches have been attempted for the Antwerp situation (1610-1746). To obtain an as complete as possible insight into the functioning of the Antwerp theatres, this project focuses on the relation between both aspects. By analyzing the plays (story, implicit and explicit performance instructions, etc.) in relation to the theatres (technical and semiotic analysis, CAD/3D-computermodels, audience, management, etc.) it becomes possible to reconstruct the evolution and the functioning of Antwerp theatre life in a far more in depth manner than when studying either aspect on its own.

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  • Research Project

The functioning of drama in an early modern city: The relationship between the design and the repertoire of the Antwerp theatres between 1610 and 1746. 01/10/2007 - 30/09/2009

Abstract

The project studies the organized theatre life in Antwerp between 1610 and 1746, while focusing on the relation between repertoire and playhouse/theatre. The research of historical theatres is often limited to either the drama texts (the plays) or the buildings (including the theatrical equipment). Neither approaches have been attempted for the Antwerp situation (1610-1746). To obtain an as complete as possible insight into the functioning of the Antwerp theatres, this project focuses on the relation between both aspects. By analyzing the plays (story, implicit and explicit performance instructions, etc.) in relation to the theatres (technical and semiotic analysis, CAD/3D-computermodels, audience, management, etc.) it becomes possible to reconstruct the evolution and the functioning of Antwerp theatre life in a far more in depth manner than when studying either aspect on its own.

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Project type(s)

  • Research Project

Dramapractice & theatre in the network of an early modern city: Function, design and use of the Antwerp theatres between 1610 and 1746. 01/10/2006 - 30/09/2007

Abstract

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  • Research Project