Œuvres complètes by Théophile Gautier, Œuvres complètes by Théophile Gautier, Œuvres complètes by Théophile Gautier

Abstract

566 Reviews CEuvres completes. By Theophile Gautier. Vol. v: Voyage en Russie. Ed. by Serge Zenkine and Natalia Mazour. Paris: Champion. 2007. 606 pp. 105. ISBN 978-2-7453-1583-0. CEuvres completes. By Theophile Gautier. Vol. vi.i: Critique thedtrale 1835 1838. Ed. by Patrick Berthier and Francois Brunet. Paris: Champion. 2007. 900 pp. 130. ISBN 978-2-7453-1589-2. CEuvres completes. By Theophile Gautier. Vol. vi.2: Critique thedtrale 1839 1840. Ed. by Patrick Berthier, Claudine Lacoste-Veysseyre, and He lene Laplace-Claverie. Paris: Champion. 2008. 831pp. 110. ISBN 978 2-7453-1825-1. Gautier's account of his two visits to Russia during the Second Empire is a fasci nating response to temporary cultural displacement. Itsdetails possess a particular appeal for the student of art and architecture, the balletomane, the railway enthu siast, the campanologist, themeteorologist, the bon vivant (Gautier's risotto alia milanese was much admired), and the smoker: the fine for lighting up in public was one rouble, though the effectof the climate on a choice Havana was an even greater disincentive. The splendid anecdotes include that of the moujik whose modest three-horse contraption beats the thoroughbreds in a race on the frozen Neva. In a performance of Othello, the black American actor Ira Aldridge speaks the Shakespearian original and the rest of the cast Schlegel's German translation. Balzac is credited with amacabre account of twoUkrainian grooms being stripped of their flesh by a pack ofwolves. (The traveller's copy of Les Parents pauvres is to reassure the customs officer that he is politically 'sound'.) This new edition, by an eminent Gautier scholar and a historian of Russia, is an outstanding work ofmeticulous scholarship. The 1,200-odd notes, many of which are substantial, illuminate the text farbeyond the reader's expectations. The accuracy ofGautier's observations is studiously assessed, as is his implicit dialogue with Custine's La Russie en 1839. The occasional errors areminor. The phrase peigner la girafe' isnot attested before 1900, so cannot (see p. 430, n. 42) derive from the animal all Paris had flocked to see in 1827. The identification (p. 540, n. 29) of a specific work by J.-H. (not T--G.') Schnitzler as one of Custine's sources is seemingly at odds with chronology. The note emphasizing the rarity of pyroscaphe (p. 427, n. 11) would have benefited from a reference to La Fille aux yeux d'or. Astoundingly, only one typographical errorwas detected. Gautier's drama criticism, collected imperfectly in 1852 and not at all in respect of the articles that appeared thereafter, is a precious source, not merely for students of Gautier and writers who were his contemporaries, but also for historians of theatre, opera, ballet, and music for the concert hall. The first two of the fifteen to twentyvolumes scheduled reveal his frequent recourse towit in compensation for themediocrity ofmany of thevaudevilles seen. Equally apparent are Gautier's likes and, especially, his dislikes (e.g. male dancers and Eugene Scribe). The highlights include the observations on Berlioz, the reviews of various bel canto masterpieces, the article on the ban on Balzac's Vautrin, and the assessment of an opera fea MLR, 105.2, 2010 567 turing, somewhat implausibly, thewreck of La Meduse. Patrick Berthiers editing, which draws on his unrivalled knowledge of other contemporary theatre reviews, while displaying the infectious enthusiasm of the melomane and opera buff, is magisterial. His commentary, a mine of unfamiliar information, gains additional resonance from his intimate knowledge of the Comedie humaine. His response to the challenge of articles signed jointly by Gautier and Nerval 0G.G/) is notably judicious. Invaluable are the observations on Gautier's linguistic usage, with their engagingly stern indication of any practice now proscribed. Few allusions remain unexplained. (Of these, Scapiglione was a freak-show figurewith an abnormally abundant head of hair.) Errors of fact are virtually non-existent, though in respect of the Voice of one crying in the wilderness', it is not Gautier who misquotes the Vulgate, but Hugo (and Balzac after him). The correct spelling of Rossini's opera is Matilde di Shabran. A note involume vi.2 acknowledges the existence in the preceding volume of certain...