摘要：Staging the French Revolution by Mark Darlow examines the politics surrounding the Paris Opéra during the French Revolution. The first part of the book presents an overview of the management of the Opéra, encompassing the changes in management from crown control to municipal regulation and the accompanying discourse, the experiments in administration to reconcile the financing of the opera with the period’s political thought, and the Opéra during the Terror. The book’s second half examines the company’s internal workings and choices of repertoire during this time of political change – chapters six and seven specifically address the repertoire during the final year of crown management in the 1789-90 season, and the final chapter considers works presented during the Terror, when control over French media was most strict. Over the span of its 421 pages, Darlow addresses three main questions: first, who controlled the theatre, and how these organizations worked together; second, how much freedom the Paris Opéra had during this period of oppressive political control; and finally, how the works presented were received by the public and how this reception influenced the successive choices in repertoire. With eight chapters in addition to an introduction, conclusion, bibliography, and index, and including tables, graphs, and score excerpts, this book provides undergraduate students and academics with an in-depth view into the behind-the-scenes work at the Paris Opéra during the Revolutionary period.
