Opera & Rococo

I am in love with the rococo era. For a while now I've been listening to The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart and Ponte. Their comedic opera is one of the only ones I can sit through!

It was interesting to learn that the original raw play by Beaumarchais sparked a dangerous controversy because the play depicted the aristocracy as arrogant, lustful and degenerate. Mozart apparently was not a fan of the feudal system and I guess this affected his decision to take on a play that would convey social justice. Definitely risky considering this was a short time before the French Revolution, but despite all this, Mozart's incredibly catchy music brought it back in fashion (or "vogue") and Ponte improved the characters while maintaining the political message. Fascinating stuff, but I digress... :)

These sketches are just some costume studies of the later rococo era. The first drawing is the fictional Countess Rosina from The Marriage of Figaro. Her dress is roughly 1770's. The second and third sketches are taken from just before the French Revolution in the late 1780's—you can usually tell by the humongous ladies' hats made popular by Lady Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. (And if you haven't checked out the movie based on her The Duchess with Keira Knightley, the costumes in it are fabulous!)

These aren't very historically accurate, but these films also have some cool period costumes: Marie Antoinette (2006) and Amadeus (1984).

~Cecilia