Report of Monthly Regular Meeting July 2023 (The 212th Meeting of Opera Research Group)
Waseda Institute for Research in Opera and Music Theatre (WIROM), Comprehensive Research Organization, Waseda University
- Time and Date: July 15th (Sat.) 2023, 16:30 – 18:30 (JST)
- Format: Online meeting (Zoom)
- Presenter: MORI, Tatsuko
- Affiliation, Position:Japan Women’s College of Physical Education, Department of Dance, Professor.
- Title: “Jean-Georges Noverre’s Lettres sur la danse, et sur les ballets: A Consideration of the Expanded and Revised Editions”
- Language: Japanese
- Abstract:
J.-G. Noverre’s Lettres sur la danse, et sur les ballets (first published in 1760) is known as the leading theoretical work of 18th-century ballet reform. However, Noverre subsequently continued to revise the book by making additions to this first edition, and in fact, several editions were published during his lifetime.
These editions include the 15 letters of the first edition, which suggests that Noverre’s basic position remained unchanged from the beginning until his later years. On the other hand, however, the newly added texts in the expanded and revised editions include many items that were not mentioned in the first edition.
In this presentation, we would like to focus on these “added parts.” They contain more specific information and recommendations on how to create and perform ballets, as well as arguments that modify the claims made in the first edition. We would like to discuss both of these issues, identifying a few key topics. - Profile of Presenter:
Tatsuko MORI is a professor at Japan Women’s College of Physical Education, Department of Dance. She studied at the graduate school of Tokyo University of the Arts, where she received her doctorate in musicology. Specializing in the history of Western dance with a focus on 18th-century dance thought, she published a complete translation and commentary of Jean-Georges Noverre’s “Lettres sur la danse, et sur les ballets” in 2022 through Dowa Shoin. She has also co-authored “History of Ballet and Dance” (Heibonsha, 2012) and published a complete translation of “Italian Opera” (Hakusuisha, 2005). In addition, she has been leading a Ballet History Study Group since 2018. - Moderator: KUGIMIYA, Takako
*Comment: There were 38 participants.
