Introduction


Rococo

The modern operetta Rococo is not only funny but also profoundly political. It’s the story about corruption and tyranny passing from hand to hand in the mother of all revolutions, the French 1789 revolution. The royal family is totally irresponsible and ruins the country, as did the result of the revolution, Napoleon.

The creators of Rococo, Jesper Morville and H.W. Gade have often worked with political and satirical plays. Rococo is perhaps their best work in the genre, combining witty dialogues, comic episodes and sharp song lyrics. The four hour long operetta has a wealth of solo and choir songs and several large dance / ballet scenes, as in the traditional operetta. It’s a great challenge for any amateur theatre group with parts and songs for everybody, including large choirs.

 

 

 

History of Rococo

Preface by the Composer

Long ago, in the middle of the Marxist 1970'ies, I decided to write a comic operetta. As a working title I chose "Strychnine". This would add a taste of "Arsenic and old laces". I planned to write the play in 1980, which I also did. It was then, however, called "Rococo", and was not about merry poisonings but about the world revolution. The local world revolution in Denmark was at the moment - if not totally dead - obviously past its prime. The so-called monk Marxism still wrecked the intellectual life, but a neo-romantic wave of poets, rock musicians and painters were getting ready to revive their art, made suspicious and ridiculous by the Marxists; often with fatal consequences for the artists in question. So the idea of a "violent levelling" as described by Zweig in his novel "Marie Antoinette, was not that strange to me.

 

In 1980, an operetta was new, exciting and difficult to me, in spite of my previous experiences with the rock opera Swastika and the rock theatre play Tavshed. Jesper Morville and I actually spent 2 years researching and writing. But beside the many jolly evenings in the company of the guillotine, the royal Capet family and the furious Jacobins, the play was never finished for good. A heavy manuscript and an incomplete musical score waited over 10 years to be abandoned or completed. In the meantime we wrote "The stolen Spring" after Hans Scherfig's novel and became famous in Denmark, as long as it lasted.

 

In the early 1991, the historical wave had had its day at the novel writers. And what would be more natural than having us composers and drama write take over this fancy, although slightly outworn, fashion? By an extraordinary coincidence, Jesper Morville and I had an old, nearly historical operetta somewhere in the drawer. So why not try our luck?

 

In the period of August to November 1991 we completed the text and music of Rococo. There were lots of loose ends, but they all came to an end in December the same year.

 

 

H.W. Gade (left) and Jesper Morville (right preparing for the first performance in 1995

 

To me Rococo was a revolt against the revolution and its essence; the dragon and the hunter, the hunter and the dragon. An old Japanese saying goes: "He who hunts the dragon, becomes the dragon". It is not possible to separate pure truth from black lies they are the two faces of the political animal. The admirable nobleman Fersen and the treacherous revolutionary Mirabeau. Or the honourable freedom fighter Lafayette and the corrupt cardinal Rohan. Who hunts whom?

 

1992: Marxism is dead. Its many fellow travelers in Denmark and in the rest of Western Europe put on black suits and neo-liberal masks. Everybody see themselves as "socialists with a human face". And the former fascists and class-enemies rejoice and campaign against foreigners, abortion and homosexuals.

 

But some of us could not forget the 70'ies: the evil time, where art and freedom were called false conscience and subjective behaviour. But also the good time with new rights for the women, the coloured and the sexual minorities. What is the truth about Denmark in the 70'ies? What is the truth about the French revolution? The truth of Marie Antoinette or the East German secret police? Cynical extravagances or cynical terror? Bertold Brecht was wrong; the truth is not concrete.

 

                     H.W. Gade

                     Copenhagen, the 4th of February 1992

 

 

 

Preface by the Historian

Why perform a drama about Marie Antoinette? Who was she, and what was the French Revolution? Natural questions when you throw yourself at the mercy of the revolution drama "Rococo". The problem though, is that we are dealing with phenomena so complex and ambiguous that any short answer(s) and most of the longer ones end up being simplified beyond belief.

 

Taking this into account, I nonetheless risk an eye, to outline the background of H.W. Gade's and my drama.

 

There have been many attempts to see the French revolution as a model for certain "inevitable" historical forces and their development. But you may find that arguments for such a model can be hard to advocate in all their ambiguity.

 

Classes and groups opposed each other - but were not united among themselves. Certain philosophical ideas played an important role - but could be interpreted in different ways. Grand personalities tried to control the development. But they failed.

 

It all played a role: the social conditions, the personalities, the ideas - and fate. Mixed with more or less flattering results.

 

In "Rococo" I do not intend to interpret or explain the French revolution. I would rather like to paint a factual/witty portrait of a historical situation much like the one we are all facing in our everyday lives. Important transitions happen in our time too, and we too have to make impor­tant decisions. And in the present days you might even choose to influence a development - in an interplay with other forces, with persons and with fate -

 

I have tried in "Rococo" to show a woman in a highly dramatic world-historical situation. And I sought to paint a brief, kaleidoscopic portrait of the forces in play: the various groups, idealists, crooks, businessmen and soldiers. History itself is always exciting with its rapid develop­ment in extremes of dazzling balls and bloody terror. So I hope that we have done some sort of justice to history in our music and pictures.

 

I would like the performances of "Rococo" to inspire the actors and the audience. They should consider the fierce interplay between ideas and persons forming history, and look at society with fresh eyes after the performance. And if this should happen to come true, I feel that our high ambitions will be more than fulfilled.

 

                     Jesper Morville,

                     London, 31st of December 1991

 

 

The Authors

Jesper Morville

Born 1954 in Copenhagen. Historian and dramatist. Besides Rococo, Morville has written the extremely successful musical ”Stolen Springs” and a Baudelaire Cabaret (Café Teater 1979) together with H.W. Gade. Morville today works in the political organization the People’s Movement against EEC, and is very active as a political speaker.


Photo: courtesy by Paula Gade 1995

 

H.W. Gade 1996, photo courtesy Finn H.W. Gade

Born in 1953 in Copenhagen. Songwriter and dramatist. H.W. Gade has released over 10 records and written about 30 songbooks and music primers. He is now mostly working with musical drama and has written 8 musicals/operas, the latest work being the musical "Frozen Positions" released in the winter of 2000. H.W. Gade plays the electric bass, the guitar and the piano.



Photo: H.W. Gade June 1996, Denmark. Photo courtesy by Finn "Skipper" Christensen

 

 

 

Historical Introduction

In the 1780'ies, France was an absolute monarchy, governed according to the model introduced by the Sun King Louis XIV a century earlier. The power was centralized at the court in Versailles. In the country the administrative and economical power belonged to the nobility. France was an agricultural country, and the conditions in the country were still mainly feudal, as they had been for centuries.

 

Commerce was also an important trade, and industrialization began to show its face. So the French bourgeoisie grew in economical strength.

 

But the economy of the country as a whole was miserable. The large centralized public administration and the many wars had emptied the treasury. France had for example helped the Americans who in 1776 rebelled against their English rulers1), the hereditary enemy of France. This war had nearly ruined the French state - and showed the significance of the freedom ideals the Americans fought for. The extreme extravagance2) of many members of the royal family, not least queen Marie Antoinet­te, obviously made things worse, and created the fertile soil for bad feelings in the people who had to pay the piper through the taxes.

 

Social and economic conditions were very miserable all over the country. And the enlightened philosophers had for a long time inspired the citizens to question the traditional privileges, enjoyed by nobility and church (e.g. exemption for taxation). There was no "rational" reason for the privileges. On the opposite they could obstruct a sensible social and economical development in the society.

 

Louis XV

 

1) General Lafayette was sent to America to help the struggle for independence

2) The “merry” count d’Artois, the king’s brother, in one year only had gambling debts of no less than 10% of the total French tax revenues, i.e. as much as the Health system in modern France.

 

 

Chronology

 

1787-89        King Louis XVI (who was more interested in fiddling with his hobby, constructing locks in his own workshop than in politics) urges some of his ministers to accomplish a tax reform - with the intention of persuading also the nobility to make the necessary contributions to the restoration of the economy. Agreement was never reached, and the nobility thereby forced the king to summon the representatives from all estates of the nation: "The General Estates", to discuss reforms. This can be seen as the first "aristocratic" French revolution.

 

1789             The General Estates meet in Versailles. Originally each estate should have discussed and voted by themselves. Then the privileged groups, nobility and clergy, would have had majority over the "third estate", which covered a broad range of citizens and peasants. But leading citizens and discontented, freedom-loving noblemen like Mirabeau and Lafayette, managed to unite the Estates into a National Assembly, which negotiated and voted together. The stubborn resistance of the king, triggered the storming of the Bastille (the prison for political prisoners) the 14the of July, later the National Day of France. The road towards thorough changes in society was irrevocable.

 

                     The 4th of August the National Constituent Assembly agreed to abolish all privileg­es, and the 26th of August they carry the Declaration of Human Rights, that all men are born free and equal (also inspired by America). The citizens of Paris and other cities form a national guard lead by marquis de Lafayette. With the new power of the citizens the king and the National Constituent Assembly are forced to move to Paris. This is the second "bourgeois" French revolution.

 

1790-91        The Constituent Assembly agrees to a free constitution and laws for taxation and administration, especially inspired by the ideas of Mirabeau (at the same time he recklessly negotiates with the royal family). But in April 1791 Mirabeau suddenly dies, the guarantor for a moderate development. The citizenry, however, is not a homogeneous, moderate group. There are many conflicting interests, social, commercial and geographical. The more radical groups, the artisans, certain intellectuals etc. became still more vociferous, and the "clubs", where they gath­ered, had an increasing influence. The 20th of July the royal family tries to flee France, which severely damages the sympathy for the now constitu­tional4) mon­arch. The homeland of Marie Antoinette, Austria, and the exiled French aristocra­ts, rattle the sabre, only to further radicalize the revolutionary development. In October, the Constituent Assembly is succeeded by a Legislative Assembly.

 

1792             In August, the Tulleries (the royal castle) in Paris is stormed, and the royal family is taken to the Temple prison. The Constitution of 1791 is suspended, and in September a new Legislative Assembly, the Convention is elected by universal suffrage, meet. The National Convention is divided into loose groupings based on various clubs, opinions and geographical areas.

 

                     It comes to war with Austria; the people in Paris massacres the imprisoned "trai­tors"­, and the Monarchy is abolished. This is the third, "radica­l" French revolution.

 

1793-94        Louis XVI is executed the 21st of January 1793. Rebellions against the revolutionary government in some of the provinces. The Convention appoints a small central "welfare committee", to make the struggle against internal and external enemies the more effective. The political and personal conflicts increase. During the purge of the so-called "terror" the Jacobins manage to eliminate most opponents. A total of 2,600 people are guillotined, in Paris alone.

 

                     The 16th of October 1793: Marie An­toinette is executed. In July 1794 the Jacobin leader, Robespierre is executed and the radical French revolution is over.

 

1795-99        The convention is dissolved, and a new constitution with five directors and limited suffrage is agreed to. The revolution becomes moderate again, partly as a reaction to the period of terror, partly because the pressure from the foreign armies (Aus­tria, Prussia and England) decreases as a result of the victories won by the revolu­tionary armies under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1799 Napoleon and two co-consuls seize the power in France.

 

 

 

The Royal Actors

 

Louis XV (1710-1774)

French absolute monarch. Both his parents died, when he was a child, and he succeeded his great-grandfather the sun king Louis XIV in 1715 (five years old). For the first many years, however, he was under the regency of others. He participated in the War of the Austrian Succession (1741-1748), in which France and Spain tried to clip the wings of the German Habsburg family in Europe, in a war against England about the colonial empire in India and Northern America. France looses Canada and other colonial areas. He was more interested in his mistresses, e.g. Mme. Pompadour and Mme. Dubarry, than in the affairs of the state, and his mistresses consequently had a large influence on the government. And the expenses to an extravagant life at the royal court.

 

The wars and the overspending of the court contributed in ruining French economy.

 

Louis XVI (1754-1793)

French king. Grandson of Louis XV, which he succeeded on the throne as absolute monarch in 1774. Weak, but well-meaning person, more interested in good food and hunting than the affairs of the state. As part of the efforts to make peace with the Austrian Habsburger family, which France unsuccessfully tried to defeat in the War of the Austrian Succession, he was married, 16 years old, to Marie Antoinette, daughter of the Austrian empress Maria Theresia. The first seven years, the marriage could not be fulfilled, as Louis XVI suffered from phimosis. He was operated on in 1777.

 

During the Revolution, the royal family tried to flee the country but was arrested and the monarchy officially abolished. "Citizen Capet", which he was now called (the royal family descended from the medieval Capet family) was sentenced to death and executed the 21st of January 1793.

 

d'Artois, Count, Later King Charles X (1757-1836)

Grandchild of Louis XV. Count to Provence and brother of Louis XVI. As a young man he was gay, superficial and fond of gambling. In the period leading up to the revolution he interfered in the political entanglement with ideas of radical absolute monarchy, in opposition to the hesitating Louis XVI. Marie Antoinette consequently opposed him and (unjustly) suspected the king's brother to lead an anti-royal party. After the fall of the Bastille he fled to Brussels as the first. Here he co-inspired the vociferous plans of a military attack on the revolutionary France, which contributed to the decision of the National Convention to execute the royal family. Returned to Paris after the fall of Napoleon together with his older brother who was crowned as Louis XVIII. After his brother's death in 1824 he was crowned himself as king. His arrogance made him rather unpopular and during the June revolution of 1830 he was expelled.

 

The Dauphin (1785-1795)

The Dauphin ("The dolphin") was the traditional title of the French crown prince. Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI's son was reported dead during the end of the revolution, probably murdered.

 

Maria Theresia (1717-1780)

German-Roman/Austrian empress, queen of Bohemia and Hungary, of the Habsburg family. Married the later emperor Franz Stephan of Lothringen in 1736, but kept the power in her own hands all her life. Reformer and popular enlightened absolute monarch, extremely conscientious and deeply religious. The great power of the Habsburg family in Europe (The Netherlands, large parts of Italy, Austria, Hungary, Silisia and Bohemia) urged other European sovereigns to attack her at several occasions, e.g. the War of the Austrian Succession, 1741-1748, but with very meager results. France and Austria therefore sought a peaceful alliance through the marriage between the daughter of Maria Theresia, Marie Antoinette and the French crown prince, the later king Louis XVI. The hereditary enemy of the empress, Frederick II ("The Great") of Prussia entailed her in his plans for a partition of Poland between Prussia, Russia and Austria. Against her will, but for political reasons, Maria Theresia accepted this outrage. Gave birth to 10 living children, 4 sons and 6 daughters. Shared the power with her son Joseph II near the end of her life. Reformed, contrary to her son-in-law Louis XVI, both administration, taxation, the condi­tions of the agriculture and commerce.

 

Marie Antoinette (1755-1793)

Austrian princess, queen of France. Daughter of emperor Frans I of Germany and Maria Theresia. In 1770 she was given in marriage to the French heir to the throne. The childish princess, with her strongly religious upbringing, was not comfortable with the etiquette in Versailles, and was very easily offended by the mistress of Louis XV, Mme. Dubarry. She soon found comfort by taking part in the many extravagant feasts in Versailles. She quickly gained a will-earned reputation for both arrogance and extravagance. Due to the weakness of her husband Louis XVI she had much influence on the appointment of officials and other parts of the government of the nation. Her reputation for extravagance made it possible for the swindler pair De la Motte to accomplish the "Diamond Necklace Affair", which gravely decreased her popularity in the public, and made way for the revolution. Gave birth to a daughter in 1778, Marie Therese Charlotte, later duchess in Austria. Gave birth to two sons, of which the oldest died as an infant in 1789. The crown prince "Le Dauphin" (Louis XVII) died in 1794 under unsolved circumstances.

 

Marie Antoinette started a relationship with the Swedish count Axel von Fersen, who attended the court in the late 1770'ies. When the revolution came in 1789, her outspoken sympathies for the military threats of her homeland Austria against the new government contributed to make all the royal family suspect. Axel von Fersen at­tempted to rescue her at several occasions, but in vain. She was imprisoned with the rest of the royal family after the storming of the royal castle in Paris, the Tuilleries. She was accused of treason by Hebért, journa­list and member of the Parisian magistrate. Executed in October 1793.

 

The Nobility

 

Fersen, Axel von (1755-1810)

Swedish count and minister. The envoy of King Gustav III at the French court. Went to America with the French military corps under Lafayette during the American War of Independence (1776). Met Marie Antoinette 1774 in Versailles, while staying with the Swedish ambassador in Paris. Having returned from America Fersen once again settled in Paris 1778, by the Swedish ambassador. Became the lover of Marie Antoinette and tried to save her, most notably by the unsuccessful escape to Varennes. Took part in the plans for a military intervention against the revolutio­nary France. Had great influence at the Swedish court, but provoked the people by his arrogance. Lynched 1810 in Stockholm during a popular uprising (unjustly) suspected to be responsible for the poising of the swedish crown prince.

 

Breteuil, Louis Auguste Le Tonnelier, baron de (1730-1807)

French minister and diplomat. Ambassador under Louis XV and Louis XVI. Royal secretary. Was assigned the administration of Paris and improved the conditions in the prisons, and often protected the literary and philosophical circles critical towards the system. Accuser of cardinal Rohan (the Necklace Affaire). Fled after the storming of the Bastille; returned during Napoleon's reign.

 

Lafayette, Joseph Motier, Marki de (1757-1834)

French nobleman and officer. Volunteered in the American War of Independence (where Fersen was his adjudant) and became enthusiastic for "the People's Case". In the General Estates in 1789, which instigated the revolution, he joined the third estate as reform-friendly liberal nobleman. Was elected commander of the new civil guard due to his widespread popularity. The National Guard was established in Paris, partly to protect against a possible royal counter-revolution. Escorted the royal family to Paris from Versailles.

 

The Clergy (?)

 

Rohan, Louis René Edouard, prince of (1734-1803)

French cardinal and court chaplain. Assisted his uncle, the archbishop of Strassbourg, at the reception ceremony for Marie An­toinette in France, where he officially welcomed the crown princess. Assigned the post as ambassador in Vienna where his scandalous private life made him fall into disgrace with Maria Theresia and thereby also with Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. His eagerness to regain the respect at the royal family brought him into the arms of the unscrupulous countess de la Motte in connection with the Necklace Affair. He was arrested - in full ornate - by Louis XVI, in August 1785. The unpopularity of the queen made him a popular hero in Paris because of the affair. The population openly cheered him when he was acquitted at the court. Elected to the General Estates in 1789. Was against the development of the revolution. Fled in 1790.

 

 

Petit Bourgeois, tricksters and other Artists

 

Campan, Henriette Genest (1752-1822)

French teacher and first-lady. Taught the daughters of Louis XV and married the cabinet secretary of the king, Campan. Became the devoted first-lady of Marie Antoinette. She wanted to follow Marie Antoinette until the bitter end in the Temple prison, but survived the revolution. After the revolution she opened a girls' school that was attended by a.o. the stepdaughter of Napoleon, who later made her headmaster of a new girls' school. The school was closed after his fall. She published "Memories of Marie Antoinette" in 1822.

 

La Motte, de Valois, Jeanne, comtesse de (1757-1791)

Countess, trickster. The leading character in the "Necklace Affair". Born in deep poverty. When it was discovered than she (and two sisters) descended from the royal Valois family, local noblemen put her and her sisters in a convent school. Escaped from the school and married the gendarme officer Marc-Antoine de la Motte. Falsified their count titles. Wanted to come to court and claim her royal ancestry. Met cardinal Prince Louis de Rohan in Strassbourg. She used his ambition of pleasing Marie Antoinette - in cooperation with her husband and her lover Retaux - to fool him into guaranty for the purchase of the most valuable diamond necklace in France, presumably for the queen. After the swindle she sold the jewels herself and lived happily for a short while. Was arrested together with Rohan and others when the affair was revealed. She was sentenced to public flogging and prison for life, but escaped to England. She died in London by falling (or jumping) out of a window after carrying on an intense and very dirty campaign against the queen.

 

Dubarry, Jeanne Bécu (1743-1793)

French countess. Illegitimate daughter of a seamstress. Worked as a much courted model and participated lively in the entertainments of Paris. Presented to Louis XV, who immediately made her his mistress, and arranged a proforma marriage between her and a count Dubarry, to "legitimate" her traffic at the court. She held great power over the king and became a very influential person at the court, until the death of Louis XV in 1774. She then had to leave the court. Executed as agent during the revolution.

 

Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de (1732-1799)

French author. Came in contact with the French court through his father who was a watchmak­er. Helped organize the French help to the American rebels during the War of Independence 1776-1783. His adventures on diplomatic missions inspired the German poet Goethe to the drama "Clavigo". Sentenced for economical speculations. Began revealing the corruption of society, e.g. in his "Memoires", which was blacklisted and burned. He kept, however, a good personal relationship with the court. He wrote the highly satirical comedies "The Barber in Seville" (1775) and "Figaro's Wedding" (1779) in which he questions the privileges of the noblemen and lets the servant Figaro reveal their downfall, they were only performed after ban and negotiations. It was an immediate success. The plays have since been regarded as the scenic version of the enlightened ideals of the time. It was maybe even these political plays that influenced the opinions of most Frenchmen, thereby paving the way for the French revolution. Accused as double-agent during the revolution. He fled, but could return to Paris in 1796.

 

Gluck, Christoph Willibald (1714-1787)

Austrian composer. Active in Vienna and Paris, where he struggled to make the opera a simple, dramatic whole (in contrast to the over-elaborated opera style of the time). The new style made him popular in a period that had begun to turn against the classical ideals (the classicism). Among his greatest successes is "Orpheo and Euridice".

 

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832)

Minister. One of the principal poets and philosophers of Germany.

 

Guillotin, Joseph Ignace (1738-1814)

French doctor. Constructed the guillotine, which was meant to execute the victim with a minimum of pain. The guillotine was used for the first time in April 1792.

 

Damas d'Artigny, Charles, duc de (1758-1829)

French colonel. Premier chamberlain of Louis XVI (premier gentilhomme de la chambre). Participated in the American War of Independence, and was hereafter assigned commander of both the dragoons of the Dauphin and the Count of Provence (the king's brother, count d'Artois). Should have cleared the road for the royal run away the 21st of June 1791. But the royal family was arrested by the local authorities in Varennes, and most of his dragoons were held back by the citizens of Clermont, where they had been stationed. He was unable to do anything. Fled during the revolution. Was ennobled when count d'Artois became king after the fall of Napoleon.

 

 

The Revolutionaries and the Partly Revolutionaries

 

Mirabeau, Gabriel Honoré de Riquetti, count of (1747-1791)

French politician. As a young soldier he had conflicts with his superiors and participated in a number of duels. His irregular life brought him into deep debts and he was frequently put to prison (although one of his mistresses, Mme. Monnier, helped him out the first time). In 1775 he published an "Essay sur le despotisme" ("Essay against the Despotism"), from the prison, which only earned him an extra sentence. He turned against the corrupt society build upon privileges. He visited the enlightened absolute monarch, Frederick II of Prussia, and praised him. Although a nobleman, he was elected to the General Estates by the third Estate in 1789. He fought indefatigably for the rights of Third Estate and for the transformation of the assembly into a constituent National Assembly. It was he who declared: "We only yield for the bayo­nets", when the king's envoys tried to disperse the assembly. Won himself great popularity at this and many other occasions. He was an excellent political speaker and the leading force behind the declaration by the National Assembly that all men are born equal and free, the human rights declaration. He fought for a constitutional monarchy, with guaranteed rights for all and against a more radical development of the revolution. The latter secured him good connections with - and much money from - the court. But his death in 1791 was another obstacle for the possibili­ty of a moderate development.

 

Hebért, Jacques René (1757-1794)

French revolutionary and scandal journalist, fanatical anti-clerical. Participated in the question­ing of Marie Antoinette in 1793 as a member of the Parisian Magistrate. During the following internal struggles for power among the revolutionaries, he and his followers were executed in 1794.

 

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

French general and, later, emperor. Born on Corsica, which the year after was finally incorpo­rated into France. Sent to France, to the military school of Brienne. The revolution offered him, as well as other talented young persons, outside the ruling noble inner circle, great possibilities. He distin­guished himself in the war, fought by revolutionary France against Prussia, Austria and England, and conquered all of Northern Italy from Austria. After the fall of Robespierre the revolution was not radical any more, but the new government of "directors" soon showed to be corrupt and incompetent. With his military successes, it was easy for Napoleon to come into power as "first consul" i 1799. In 1804 he proclaimed himself emperor. Secured that a number of the conquest of the revolution became included in the laws, and that the new society worked like clockwork. But he betrayed the revolutionary freedom ideas by reinstating the absolute powers. His military genius, however, secured that some of the ideas of the revolution were exported to the rest of Europe and preserved in France. But he was driven to wars of conquest that impoverished the country again, ending in defeat and his own imprisonment on the English Atlantic island Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.

 

Portraits

 

 

Top left Queen Marie Antoinette, right Axel von Fersen, bottom King Louis XVI

Portraits (2)

 

 

Top left Count Mirabeau, right madame Dubarry
Middle right General Lafayette
Bottom left Empress Maria Theresia, middle cardinal Rohan, right countess de la Motte

 

 

 

Technical Information

Copyrights

 

Rococo / Rokoko

ISBN 87-88619-50-8

3rd Edition, 1st Issue, Winter 2000

 

 

Digital BooksÔ is a trademark of NORDISC Music & Text, DK-2700 Broenshoej, Denmark

 

ROKOKO

Rockoperette i 3 akter

 

Music © H.W. Gade 1980/1991

Text © H.W. Gade and Jesper Morville 1980/1991/1993

Additional text and music for the 2nd edition © H.W. Gade 1995

Original illustrations © H.W. Gade 1980/1994.

All other illustrations from contemporary prints

Photos by Paula Gade © 1995

 

 

What does it take to perform Rococo?

The following list is a rough overview of the Personnel and scenography of Rococo. The scenography and the costumes are very complicated and a number of illustrations and suggestions follow later, some from the original sketches in 1980-81 and some from the first performance in 1995. The vocals can be sung by good amateur singers, although some parts are technically demanding. You do not need to have a live orchestra, but can perform the opera with the MIDI music on the CD-ROM and a rock band as accompaniment. But any real orchestra, even a small amateur school orchestra is much better than the machine music.

 

Playing Time

1st Act
About 1:30 hours

2nd Act
About 2 hours

3rd Act
About 0:30 hours

Total Duration 4 hours

 

This is a very long operetta. An operetta is a classical form and it takes its time. You should have two pauses like in the classical tradition, maybe with a light serving between the second and third act.

 

Singers and Musicians

 

Main characters of Rococo

Marie Antoinette

Louis XVI

Axel Fersen

Rohan

Campan

De la Motte

Mr. de la Motte

Nicole

Rétaux

Goethe

Lafayette

Dauphin

MA's daughter

Léonard, hairdresser

 

Orchestra

 

Wind

Traverse flute (2)

French horn (2)

 

Various

Electrical mandolin

Cembalo (or keyboard)

Marimba (or keyboard)

Celeste (or keyboard)

Harp

 

Band

Electric guitar

Electric bass

Drums

 

Strings

Primo violin (2)

Secondo violin (2)

Viola (2)

Cello (2)

Double bass (1)

 

Minor characters

Beaumarchais, writer

Goethe

Booksellers, 2

Citizens, 3

Breteuille, baron

Peasants, 10

Böhmer, jeweler

D'Artois, count, brother of Louis XVI

Damas, colonel

Judge

Dubarry, mistress of king Louis XV

A spokeswoman

Freedom fighters, 4

Gluck, composer

La Marck, count

Guillotin, doctor

HebértHebért, chief editor/accuser

Jacobins, radical political club

Jarjays, count

Louis XV, king of France

Maria Theresia, empress of Austria

Mirabeau, count/radical politician

Napoleon, emperor, see later

The prince of Coburg

Royalist, supporter of king Louis XVI

Simon, people's deputy, shoemaker

Soldiers, 8

Starhemberg, count

 

 

 

Scenography

 

Original Set Drawings by H.W. Gade 1980

 

 

Top Ceremonial Chamber, Bottom Strasbourg

(Original Set Drawings 1980, 2)

 

 

Top a Room in Versailles, bottom Paris

 

 

Trianon in Versailles (photo)

 

 

Theatre in Versailles (Print 17th Century)

 

(Original Set Drawings 1980, 3)

 

 

Top The Garden of Versailles, bottom the Tulleries Castle

 

 

A court

 

 

 

Out in the country

 

Special effects

A fountain with wine

1-2 lambs

A Berlin coach

 

Sets, divided in scenes

 

ACT 1

Ceremonial chamber, 1

Strasbourg, 2-3

Versailles, 4-5

Trianon, 6

The Ballroom, 7

In front of the curtain, 8

The Ballroom

In front of the curtain

The Ballroom, 9

 

ACT 2

Versailles, 1

Paris, 2-3

A theater, 4

A park, 5-7

Versailles, 8-12

Paris (day), 13-14

Paris (night), 15

Out in the country, 16

 

ACT 3

Paris (morning), 1

The Tulleries, 2-3

In front of the stage, 4

A Ballroom

A court, 5

In front of the stage, 6

 

 

 

From the first Performance
of Rococo in 1995

 

 

 

Poster for Rococo 1995

 

 

 

Director Claudi Magnusson (left)
sitting with the composer and the director’s assistant

 

Claudi directing Christina (de la Motte)

To her right, Nina (Marie Antoinette)

 

 

 

Henriette (d’Artois) and Thomas (Fersen)

 

 

A tiny corner of the Choir

 

 

Thomas playing with the Kids, rehearsing can be fun too!