Early 18th-Century Ballad Operas and Their Role in the
Theatrical Public Sphere

k 2020

Early 18th-Century Ballad Operas and Their Role in the Theatrical Public Sphere

MIKYŠKOVÁ, Anna

Basic information

Original name

Early 18th-Century Ballad Operas and Their Role in the Theatrical Public Sphere

Authors

MIKYŠKOVÁ, Anna (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution)

Edition

In/Outside the Frame Conference, 15th International Cultural Studies Conference & 4th International Conference on Linguistics and Language Teaching and Learning, 5th-6th November 2020, University of Pardubice, Pardubice, 2020

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Prezentace na konferencích

Field of Study

60206 Specific literatures

Country of publisher

Czech Republic

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14210/20:00114431

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

Keywords in English

18th century; ballad opera; theatre; public sphere; Jürgen Habermas; Christopher B. Balme; public engagement

Abstract

V originále

Like theatre in all ages, the English early 18th-century theatre was a social phenomenon which took an active part in the public discourse of its time. One genre that was particularly reflexive of the current affairs was the English ballad opera, whose subversive potential is demonstrated by the fact that ballad operas were the most frequently censored dramatic form of the 1730s. One way to approach such public participation offers Christopher Balme in his study The Theatrical Public Sphere (2014), where he remodels Jürgen Habermas’s theory of the public sphere for the purposes of the study of theatre. Balme proposes three modes of theatre’s engagement with the public sphere: the rational-critical mode, which opens a discursive platform, the affective-agonistic mode with a political or persuasive potential, and the ludic mode based on satire. By drawing on Balme’s concept, the paper revisits several ballad operas and analyses them with respect to their potential engagement with the theatrical public sphere of their time. The paper demonstrates that ballad operas, which are often disregarded as ephemeral, and therefore insignificant, musical entertainment, had the capacity to participate in a broader discussion of public affairs which reached far beyond the spaces of London playhouses.

Links

GA19-07494S, research and development project

Name: Anglická divadelní kultura 1660-1737

Investor: Czech Science Foundation

Citovat

MIKYŠKOVÁ, Anna. Early 18th-Century Ballad Operas and Their Role in the Theatrical Public Sphere. In In/Outside the Frame Conference, 15th International Cultural Studies Conference & 4th International Conference on Linguistics and Language Teaching and Learning, 5th-6th November 2020, University of Pardubice, Pardubice. 2020.

@proceedings{1689876,
   author = {Mikyšková, Anna},
   booktitle = {In/Outside the Frame Conference, 15th International Cultural Studies Conference & 4th International Conference on Linguistics and Language Teaching and Learning, 5th-6th November 2020, University of Pardubice, Pardubice},
   keywords = {18th century; ballad opera; theatre; public sphere; Jürgen Habermas; Christopher B. Balme; public engagement},
   language = {eng},
   title = {Early 18th-Century Ballad Operas and Their Role in the Theatrical Public Sphere},
   url = {https://ff.upce.cz/ff/literature-and-cultural-studies-conference},
   year = {2020}
}

TY  - CONF
ID  - 1689876
AU  - Mikyšková, Anna
PY  - 2020
TI  - Early 18th-Century Ballad Operas and Their Role in the Theatrical Public Sphere
KW  - 18th century
KW  - ballad opera
KW  - theatre
KW  - public sphere
KW  - Jürgen Habermas
KW  - Christopher B. Balme
KW  - public engagement
UR  - https://ff.upce.cz/ff/literature-and-cultural-studies-conference
N2  - Like theatre in all ages, the English early 18th-century theatre was a social phenomenon which took an active part in the public discourse of its time. One genre that was particularly reflexive of the current affairs was the English ballad opera, whose subversive potential is demonstrated by the fact that ballad operas were the most frequently censored dramatic form of the 1730s. One way to approach such public participation offers Christopher Balme in his study The Theatrical Public Sphere (2014), where he remodels Jürgen Habermas’s theory of the public sphere for the purposes of the study of theatre. Balme proposes three modes of theatre’s engagement with the public sphere: the rational-critical mode, which opens a discursive platform, the affective-agonistic mode with a political or persuasive potential, and the ludic mode based on satire. By drawing on Balme’s concept, the paper revisits several ballad operas and analyses them with respect to their potential engagement with the theatrical public sphere of their time. The paper demonstrates that ballad operas, which are often disregarded as ephemeral, and therefore insignificant, musical entertainment, had the capacity to participate in a broader discussion of public affairs which reached far beyond the spaces of London playhouses.
ER  -

MIKYŠKOVÁ, Anna. Early 18th-Century Ballad Operas and Their Role in the Theatrical Public Sphere. In \textit{In/Outside the Frame Conference, 15th International Cultural Studies Conference \&{} 4th International Conference on Linguistics and Language Teaching and Learning, 5th-6th November 2020, University of Pardubice, Pardubice}. 2020.

Detailed Information on Publication Record