#Beaumarchais

[cy-lindric]

Le subterfuge de Chérubin

[my-deer-friend]

Watched the first episode of Franklin last night.

The usual dramatic liberties have been taken, of course, in things like condensing characters and events, but it has an authentic feel and shows a good deal of respect to its historical source material. The costumes and sets are just beautiful (we'll forgive a few wonky cravats and collars).

I'm surprised by how much I like Michael Douglas in the title role, though he's a little too serious most of the time. Since all the other characters are dialled to 11, it makes for a curious contrast since we're used to seeing Franklin as the stand-out wit. Hopefully he warms up!

Beaumarchais is delightfully camp, and Lafayette is entirely charming, spilling over with teenage enthusiasm and earnestness. Louis XVI tinkering at his workbench was a 11/10 detail. Vergennes is subtle and sensitive.

All in all, a very enjoyable viewing experience so far.

[baliisarda]

Cherubino's the type of child to nag you non-stop at the pool "Are you watching? Are you wa— Are you— Are you watching? I'm going to do something REALLY COOL! 🙂" just for him to do a sort of pathetic handstand

[gardenofadonis]

the thing about Cherubino and Barbarina is that they really match each other’s freak

[whencyclopedia]

Dogs & Their Collars in the Age of Enlightenment

In medieval and Renaissance Europe, dogs were considered little more than 'machines' which performed certain tasks, such as guarding a home or tracking game, but this view changed significantly during the Age of Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Reason) of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Age of Enlightenment was an intellectual movement among the upper-class intelligentsia, which encouraged a re-evaluation and reinterpretation of widely held beliefs concerning the human condition. Prior to the Protestant Reformation (1517-1648), the Catholic Church had shaped European interpretation of life and one’s place in the universe, but afterwards, individuals were encouraged to seek a personal relationship with God based on their own understanding of scripture and this led to greater freedom of spiritual and intellectual pursuits which eventually found expression during the Age of Enlightenment.

Among the many advances this period produced was a re-evaluation of the dog. The Church had declared that dogs were soulless beings and should not be treated with the same regard as humans who had been endowed with an immortal soul. One of the most significant thinkers of the Enlightenment, René Descartes (l. 1596-1650), the philosopher some cite as the "Father of the Enlightenment", decided to prove the Church’s claim true or false by dissecting dogs while they were still alive, even his wife’s pet dog and, finding no evidence of a soul, concluded the Church was correct.

Later thinkers, artists, and poets disagreed with Descartes, however, and featured the animals in their works, often excluding human subjects. Dog collars, which were previously utilitarian devices for controlling the animals, became ornate works of art. Collars were so valuable, in fact, that laws were enacted punishing people for the theft of a collar more severely than if they had stolen the dog itself. The Age of Enlightenment dramatically changed the way people viewed and treated dogs and eventually encouraged the development of societies dedicated to their safety, comfort, and well-being.

Dogs in Art

In 1434, the Flemish artist Jan van Eyck (l. c. 1390-1441) painted what is arguably his masterpiece, the Arnolfini Portrait, of a man and woman in a room with a dog. The two people, presumably a husband and his pregnant wife, seem to be in the midst of a serious discussion, but the small dog at their feet looks attentively out toward the viewer. The painting has long been praised for its intimacy and realism, and this dog is an important aspect of that. This dog has no concern at all for whatever drama may or may not be unfolding between the two humans; its attention is on the stranger - the person now viewing the painting - who has just walked in on this scene.

Impressive as the work is, no other artists chose to represent dogs in such an intimate and realistic manner again until the 18th century when paintings begin to regularly feature the upper class in the company of a favorite dog. The painting Miss Mary Edwards (1742) by the English artist William Hogarth (l. 1697-1764) shows the woman at her writing table stroking the head of her spaniel and A Woman with a Dog (1769) by French painter Jean Honore Fragonard (l. 1732-1806) catches a woman holding up her small white lapdog, wearing a blue-ribbon collar and leash, as though the viewer has just opened the door and surprised her. The dog in this painting, unlike in van Eyck's, takes no notice of the intruder and only has eyes for its mistress.

Dog collars in these paintings and many others, when they are shown, are often bands of gold or silver or, as in the case of Fragonard's piece, ribbon. In many of the Enlightenment paintings which feature dogs, the focus is clearly on the human subject with the dog playing a secondary role in the composition until one artist decided to elevate the dog in art and, in doing so, changed the way people saw dogs in their daily lives.

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[ascle]

Je me presse de rire de tout, de peur d’être obligé d’en pleurer.

- Beaumarchais

[pineapplesandbananas]

while there are many wonderful parts of Jonathan Miller's production of Nozze at the Met I think the best part is little Rosina Jr. who periodically pops in and sits onstage for a bit.

the best part though, is that she gets brought onstage for Ricevete, o padroncina and stays for the rest of the third act. and yes, this does mean she watches the passive agressive argument going on between her parents, as well as Barbarina's, "remember what you said when you kissed me?"

but you know, I think watching your parents fight adds character

[figarotrilogy]

can we PLEASE talk about this production of barber of seville? (Zurich Opera House 2001)

they're just unhinged

also, Figaro has a motorbike and Almaviva has a scooter

[naphzu]

I don't really think I have a "type" but you could try guessing

[aramielles]

Quel est le personnage le plus con de la littérature française et pourquoi est-ce Almaviva ?

[my-deer-history]

Beaumarchais to Préville, 31 March 1784

French transcription

Paris ce 31 Mars 1784

Nous nous sommes trompés, tous les deux, mon vieil ami. Je tremblais que vous ne quittassiez le théâtre à Pâques ; et vous, mon vieil ami, vous étiez dans l'opinion que le Mariage de Figaro ne pouvait pas se jouer. Mais il ne faut jamais désespérer de garder un acteur que le public adore ni de voir vaincre un auteur courageux qui croit avoir raison et qui ne se dégoûte pas par les dégoûts. J'ai, mon vieil ami, le bon du Roi, le bon du Ministre, le bon du lieutenant de Police. Il ne manque plus que le vôtre pour voir un beau tapage à la rentrée. Allons mon ami. C'est bien peu de chose que ma pièce ; mais la voir au théâtre est le fruit de quatre ans de combats ; voilà ce qui m'y attache. Quel mal ils m'ont fait ces méchants ! Deux ans plus tôt, mon ami Préville aurait assuré le succès de mes cinq actes. Aujourd'hui le charme qu'il répandra sur un moindre rôle fera bien regretter qu'il ne joue pas le premier ! On me conseille l'étude et les répétitions sans éclat ; et nous sommes convenus d'agir, mais sans rien dire. D'azincourt et La Porte se sont chargés d'écrire à tout le monde, en recommandant le silence, afin que notre bonne fortune ne finisse pas encore une fois par en devenir une de capucin. Je vous salue, vous honore et vous aime. Beaumarchais 

My translation

Paris, this 31 March 1784

We erred, both of us, my old friend. I was shaken when you departed the theatre at Easter; and you, my old friend, you were of the opinion that The Marriage of Figaro could not be performed. But one must never despair of keeping an actor that the public adores nor of seeing victorious a courageous author who believes he is right and who is not disgusted by disgusts. I have, my old friend, the approval of the King, the approval of the Minister, the approval of the lieutenant of police. Nothing more is needed except yours to see a great commotion at the start of the season. Come on, my friend. It’s not very much, my piece; but to see it on stage is the fruit of four years of battle; that is what attaches me to it. What wrong these villains have done to me! Two years ago, my friend Préville would have assured the success of my five acts. Today the charm that he will bring to a lesser role will make us regret that he does not play the lead! Study and rehearsals without brilliance are advised to me; and we have agreed to act, but not to say anything. D'azincourt and La Porte took it upon themselves to write to everyone, in recommending silence, so that our good fortune does not once again end up becoming that of the capuchin. I salute you, honour you and love you. Beaumarchais

---

This letter was written just a few weeks before the first performance of Le Mariage de Figaro on 27 April 1784, and is filled both with Beaumarchais’s humour and his intensity. It’s addressed to the actor Préville, and gives an account of the struggles that Beaumarchais went through to get his play through the strict censorship board. 

Préville was a well-known comic actor who originated the role of Figaro in Beaumarchais’s previous work, Le Barbier de Séville, in 1775. In this letter, Beaumarchais is lamenting that Préville will not retake the role, instead embodying a much lesser one - the judge Brid’oison. Préville was 63 at the time, and only a few years from his final retirement, which probably explains why he declined the demanding role.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Kings will be tyrants by policy when subjects are rebels from principle.

- Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles was first commissioned by the Met in 1980 but then put on in 2019. The new production was directed by Jay Lessenger to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Royal Opera of Versailles in Versailles.

In this historical journey, with hints of Mozart and Rossini are the French nobility who are trapped in limbo, as the victims of the French Revolution. They are still traumatised by their executions on Earth and await their ultimate fate with apprehension. To come to the aid of the unfortunate souls, the playwright Beaumarchais enlists his most famous creations to re-stage the revolution and offer a happier ending.

[my-deer-friend]

The bisexual duality of Cherubino.

Blushing babyboy twink vs "Why yes, I did fuck your wife. You want a turn too?"

[baliisarda]

RIP Cherubino you would have loved Gen Alpha brainrot

[francepittoresque]

18 mai 1799 : mort de Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais ➽ http://bit.ly/Pierre-Caron-Beaumarchais Tour à tour horloger, professeur de musique, homme de cour, diplomate, écrivain, armateur de navires et éditeur, Beaumarchais, qui notamment imposa la reconnaissance du droit d’auteur, eut l’existence la plus agitée et la plus féconde qui soit en péripéties

[somethingwithmoles]

Jean-Marc Nattier, Portrait of Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, 1755, oil on canvas, 82,3 x 64,5 cm, private collection, London

Source: Wikimedia Commons