GAUDIGUAD

Opera Order

Burlesque has to be distinguished from Comédie en Vaudeville. The Italian noun "burla" translated into English means not only "fun" or "joke", but also "trifle". Thus, it characterizes the act of burlesque as lower and inferior comedy, which in contrast to the comedy of the Comédie en Vaudeville is usually coarse to frivolous. Even though instrumental pieces of music with an exuberantly cheerful character are called burlesque, they cannot be frivolous by their nature. Above all, the actresses of the American Comédies en Vaudeville were afraid of slipping into these often funny strip shows in order to earn money as artistic amusement ladies if they or their plays were unsuccessful.

From the Comédie en Vaudeville, the Opéra-comique developed in the French theater in the seventeenth century with an equally comical, but more cheerful and non-barking comedy and music, which at first consisted of simple songs, but in the following decades in terms of harmony and melody became more and more complex and demanding and also included arias, ensemble and even choir numbers. At times, the term "comique" no longer only served to identify comic musical theater, but rather, in accordance with the ancient Greek definition of comedy, to distinguish operas with serious dramatic and tragic content and concepts, and defined Opéra-comique as an opera with positive to cheerful musical and dramaturgicals Basic mood. This meaning of the adjective "comique" is also reflected in the French professional designation of actors as "comédien", since it was the first to describe actors from the "comédies" who entertained the audience even when they played serious or tragic roles. During the French Revolution (1789 to 1799), the Opéra-comique was charged with serious commitment and only reduced to its basic musical structure, but later performed again with its original intention.

In the Baroque era there were no longer simple amateur actors on the market square in the light of day, but professionals on theater stages in the spotlight, i.e. in noble candlelight, which led to the appearance of theater, music and opera stars. Because women were not allowed to appear on stage at the time, castrati sang the female roles.