著者

譲原 晶子

出版者

日本演劇学会

雑誌

演劇学論集 日本演劇学会紀要 (ISSN:13482815)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.55, pp.1-19, 2012

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<p>The "ballet d'action", meaning the "ballet with a narrative or a story", was a genre of ballet that emerged in the 18th century. This genre originally sought for becoming a "drama". Although it later underwent such a change that it became, by the age of the Romanticism, a sort of spectacle, and although its narratives then came to be seen merely as pretexts or "texts as excuse" for the spectacle, what had been achieved in the earlier stage of the development of "ballet d'action" seems to have had significant influence on dramatic dances which flourished in the twentieth century. So I question, in this paper, how and in which way the early "ballet d'action" was able to construct itself as a kind of "mute drama", without ignoring, of course, also the spectacular aspect of it.</p><p>I first examine articles of performance reviews at that time to find pertinent successful pieces and then analyze the scenarios. As a result, the following observations are possible. Main characters of "ballet d'action" are often getting absorbed in something: a device that creates such situations where they can remain totally mute. For instance, they are getting absorbed in a game of love (as is seen in many pieces) or artistic creation (as in <i>Pygmalion</i> or <i>Apelles et Campaspe</i>), or getting self-absorbed as in <i>Dansomanie</i> or <i>Somnambule</i>. At the same time, certain inner conflicts of the characters undoubtedly accompany these absorptions. Further, those actions of being absorbed in something are often superposed on swiftly changing, spectacular "tableaus" on the stage. Consequently, the main characters' inner conflicts can stand out in contrast to the balletic background.</p>