The Architecture of Arcadia: Quinault, Lully, and the Complicit Spectator of theTragédie en Musique

Abstract

AbstractMost analyses of the Arcadia of the Ancien regime interpret pastoral politically as a place built in contrast to court life, a contrast that manifested itself iconographically as pastoral scenes built in the foreground of palatial backdrops, or Arcadian, garden-like courtyards. But, in the context of theatre, the scenography of pastoral was also constructed as a peaceful, verdant setting that opposed the dangers and marvels of mythological places and characters put into motion by machines. Even though Arcadia was a rather artificial version of a simple garden or forest, it was nevertheless part of a visual tradition that was understood as a possible world. For Philippe Quinault and Jean-Baptiste Lully, the pastoral space was key to harmonizing not only the singing, but also the ever-increasing use of machines and spectacular scene changes of early musical tragedy. Thanks to its familiar topoi, the pastoral setting (evident in didascalies, iconography, and within the verses of Quinault's libretti) ...