1832 English broadside

[rg]

a broadside from 1832 about opera and ballet doings on December 15 in London.

(2-part scan, since the full 'snake' is longer than the bed of my scanner.)

[bart]

What a fascinating document. It's interesting how much attention is given to the scenic design, especially in Masaniello, with its promise of "Splendour of scenery, dress, and decorations.". At the bottom of the first scan is a list of the various settings: view of Naples from Portici, the Market Place, the Viceroy's Palace, the ever-popular Mt. Vesuvius.

Sheer spectacle seems to play a significant role in attracting audiences. Is this typical, I wonder, of other ballet advertising in the period?

This seems to have been an exceptionally LONG evening. Am I right in assuming that the audience got to see the whole of Fra Diavolo, then a (presumably one-act) comic farce, conclusing with a major ballet based on or derived from the opera La Muette di Portici?

Another question: Does anyone have a clue as to what the following means: "No Orders whatever will be admitted"?

[Mel Johnson]

Masaniello is La Muette de Portici; They're just construing what we would call an opera as a ballet.

"No orders..." is seen back into the eighteenth century; I believe that it means "no free passes".

[rg]

some data about the players in the event announced in the leaflet, identifying a link to Taglioni - the ballerina/Sylph who made her appearance earlier in '32 in Paris and suggesting that beyond this run Deshayes reworked Auber's FRA DIAVOLO five years later.

*Coulon, Jean François, fl. 1787-1830.

Father of Antoine Coulon. Teacher of Marie Taglioni.

*Coulon, Antoine, 1796-1849.

*Brigand de Terracina: Chor: André Jean Jacques Deshayes; mus: Daniel François Esprit Auber and August Pilati; lib: inspired by Auber's "Fra Diavolo." First perf: England: London, King's Theatre, Feb 25, 1837, Pauline Duvernay, Antoine Coulon and others.