Restoration spectacular  

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Basically home-grown and with roots in the early 17th-century [[court]] [[masque]], though never ashamed of borrowing ideas and stage technology from French [[opera]], the spectaculars are sometimes called "English opera". However, the variety of them is so untidy that most theatre historians despair of defining them as a [[genre]] at all (see Hume, 205). Only a handful of works of this period are usually accorded the term "opera", as the musical dimension of most of them is subordinate to the visual. It was spectacle and scenery that drew in the crowds, as evidenced by many comments in the diary of the theatre-lover [[Samuel Pepys]]. The expense of mounting ever more elaborate scenic productions drove the two competing theatre companies into a dangerous spiral of huge expenditure and correspondingly huge losses or profits. A fiasco such as Dryden's ''[[Albion and Albanius]]'' would involve a company in serious debt, while blockbusters like [[Thomas Shadwell]]'s ''[[Psyche (opera)|Psyche]]'' or Dryden's ''[[King Arthur (opera)|King Arthur]]'' would put it comfortably in the black for a long time. Basically home-grown and with roots in the early 17th-century [[court]] [[masque]], though never ashamed of borrowing ideas and stage technology from French [[opera]], the spectaculars are sometimes called "English opera". However, the variety of them is so untidy that most theatre historians despair of defining them as a [[genre]] at all (see Hume, 205). Only a handful of works of this period are usually accorded the term "opera", as the musical dimension of most of them is subordinate to the visual. It was spectacle and scenery that drew in the crowds, as evidenced by many comments in the diary of the theatre-lover [[Samuel Pepys]]. The expense of mounting ever more elaborate scenic productions drove the two competing theatre companies into a dangerous spiral of huge expenditure and correspondingly huge losses or profits. A fiasco such as Dryden's ''[[Albion and Albanius]]'' would involve a company in serious debt, while blockbusters like [[Thomas Shadwell]]'s ''[[Psyche (opera)|Psyche]]'' or Dryden's ''[[King Arthur (opera)|King Arthur]]'' would put it comfortably in the black for a long time.
 +==Legacy==
There have been a small number of attempts to resurrect the Restoration spectacular as a background to modern cinema: [[Terry Gilliam]]'s ''[[The Adventures of Baron Munchausen]]'' features at its start perhaps the most accurate reconstruction, with painted scenery, mechanisms and lighting effects typical of the period. There have been a small number of attempts to resurrect the Restoration spectacular as a background to modern cinema: [[Terry Gilliam]]'s ''[[The Adventures of Baron Munchausen]]'' features at its start perhaps the most accurate reconstruction, with painted scenery, mechanisms and lighting effects typical of the period.

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The Restoration spectacular, or elaborately staged "machine play", hit the London public stage in the late 17th-century Restoration period, enthralling audiences with action, music, dance, moveable scenery, baroque illusionistic painting, gorgeous costumes, and special effects such as trapdoor tricks, "flying" actors, and fireworks. These shows have always had a bad reputation as a vulgar and commercial threat to the witty, "legitimate" Restoration drama; however, they drew Londoners in unprecedented numbers and left them dazzled and delighted.

Basically home-grown and with roots in the early 17th-century court masque, though never ashamed of borrowing ideas and stage technology from French opera, the spectaculars are sometimes called "English opera". However, the variety of them is so untidy that most theatre historians despair of defining them as a genre at all (see Hume, 205). Only a handful of works of this period are usually accorded the term "opera", as the musical dimension of most of them is subordinate to the visual. It was spectacle and scenery that drew in the crowds, as evidenced by many comments in the diary of the theatre-lover Samuel Pepys. The expense of mounting ever more elaborate scenic productions drove the two competing theatre companies into a dangerous spiral of huge expenditure and correspondingly huge losses or profits. A fiasco such as Dryden's Albion and Albanius would involve a company in serious debt, while blockbusters like Thomas Shadwell's Psyche or Dryden's King Arthur would put it comfortably in the black for a long time.

Legacy

There have been a small number of attempts to resurrect the Restoration spectacular as a background to modern cinema: Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen features at its start perhaps the most accurate reconstruction, with painted scenery, mechanisms and lighting effects typical of the period.

See also




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