18th Century Paris Entertainment

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how in terms of entertainment, Paris had much to offer during the 18th century. It examines the most popular entertainments of the middle and upper classes, of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy at the time.

Outline:
Public and Private Balls
Opera and Ballet
Theatre

From the Paper:

"Many women would occupy their mornings with reading (if they would read - illiteracy among higher class women was much higher in France than in England at the time), drawing or music. The preferred instrument among French ladies was the harpsichord. It was considered very elegant and was an ornamented piece of furniture that could occupy a room on its own with only some chairs around for the audience. Some harpsichords were masterpieces of craftsmanship and bore elaborate drawings and carved birds, flowers, lake scenes, etc. J.B. Huet was a very talented painter who painted on harpsichords during the middle of the 18th century. The music women used to play was by Francois Couperin - his first collection Suites was published in 1713. They would also play Bach and Haendel. Mozart and Vivaldi were very much appreciated. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Albert, Maurice. Les theatres des boulevards 1789 - 1848. Geneve: Slatkine Reprints, 1969.
• Conte, Pierre. Danses anciennes de cour et de theatre en France : elements de composition. Paris : Association l'Ecriture du mouvement : Dessain et Tolra, 1974
• Delaroche, Aime. Lettres sur la danse, et sur les ballets, par M. Noverre, maitre des ballets de Son Altesse Serenissime Monseigneur le Duc de Wurtemberg, & ci-devant des theatres de Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Londres, &c. Lyon, 1760 (ed. Maurice Dejart), Paris : Editions du Sandre, 2006
• Fossey, E. et al. La vie de chateau 1770 - 1780. Caen: Service du patrimoine, 2007
• Grendel, Frederic. Beaumarchais ou la calomnie. Paris 1973

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