Ce travail est consacré à l’étude du personnage allégorique de la Folie sur la scène de l’Académie Royale de Musique entre 1697 et 1718. Qu’il soit suggéré ou personnifié, ce caractère féminin est abondamment présent dans les spectacles de cette période. A la fin du règne de Louis XIV, la Folie fait peu à peu son entrée à l’Opéra. Entourée de Momus, du Carnaval, de Bacchus, de l’Amour et des personnages de la commedia dell’arte, la Folie « ramène les tendres Jeux », « chasse la Raison cruelle » et invite sans cesse à « goûter les charmes de la vie ». En accédant à l’Opéra, cette figure extravagante et enjouée signale une évolution de ton qui préfigure le changement de mœurs associé à la Régence. Mais au-delà de la philosophie hédoniste qu’elle dispense, quel est le sens caché des paroles de la Folie ? Faut-il voir dans la présence de ce personnage une remise en cause de l’ordre établi, de la politique sociale et de l’austérité marquant la fin du règne ? Son utilisation permet-elle, sous la couverture d’une « maladie de l’âme », de critiquer la politique et les mœurs de Louis XIV ? Qui se cachent derrière le discours subversif de la Folie ? Quel est le rôle de cette figure dans les débats esthétiques de l’époque ? Cette recherche explore le rôle, ainsi que le traitement musical, dramatique et scénique d’une telle figure à travers l’étude d’ouvrages créés à l’Opéra. Nous proposons ici un portrait physique, moral et social de la Folie, à la lumière de multiples documents musicaux, textuels et iconographiques de l’époque, et présentons différents traits de caractère du personnage et plusieurs thèmes qui lui sont liés afin de comprendre les raisons de sa présence à cette époque. / This work is devoted to the study of the allegorical figure of Folly on the stage of the Académie Royale de Musique between 1697 and 1718. Suggested or personified, this female character is abundantly present in the spectacles of this period. At the end of the reign of Louis XIV, Folly appears little by little at the Opera. Surrounded by Momus, Carnival, Bacchus, the god of love and the characters of the commedia dell'arte, Folly "brings back the soft Games", "banishes the cruel Reason" and continually invites to "taste the charms of life”. By accessing the Opera, this extravagant and playful figure indicates a change of tone that foreshadows the changing attitudes of the Regency. But beyond the hedonistic philosophy that she provides, what is the hidden meaning of Folly’s words? Should we see a calling into question of the established order, the social policy and the austerity marking the end of the reign? Does its use allow, under the cover of a “disease of the soul”, to criticize the policy and manners of Louis XIV? Who hides behind the subversive speech of Folly? What is the role of this figure in the aesthetic debates of the period? This research explores the role, as well as musical, dramatic and scenic treatments of such a figure through the study of works created at the Opera. We propose here a physical, moral and social portrait of Folly, in the light of multiple musical, textual and iconographic documents of the time, and present different character traits and several themes that are related to it in order to understand the reasons for its presence at this time

La thèse traite la réception de l’air italien à Paris 1687 et 1715. Elle est structurée en deux parties : la première est consacrée à l’analyse des recueils d’airs italiens, manuscrits et imprimés, produits et circulant à Paris entre les deux siècles la seconde, à la pratique des airs dans le contexte du théâtre parisien (Comédie Italienne, Comédie Française et Opéra) entre la mort de LuIIy (1687) et celle de Louis XIV (1715). En complément du travail de réflexion, on présente le catalogue du corpus étudié. Le corpus choisi place l’air italien du dernier quart du siècle au cœur du phénomène de la réception et de son impact sur le monde théâtral parisien. Le travail d'identification des sources, pour la plupart anonymes, montre qu’il s’agit d’extraits d’opéras. Quant au périmètre géographique des sources, l’axe Versailles-Paris a paru comme le plus logique pour suivre la circulation d’un répertoire apanage dans un premier temps des élites et ensuite, en conséquence de la décentralisation artistique qui investit la cour à la fin du règne de Louis XIV, touchant davantage la ville. L’analyse des œuvres représentées aux deux Comédies ci à l’Opéra à la fin de règne en illustre les modalités d’appropriation par les interprètes, les poètes et les compositeurs, renfermant ainsi le cercle idéal du parcours de l’air d’opéra italien de sa scène d’origine à celle d’accueil. La continuité dans la pratique des airs italiens sur la scène parisienne en ces décennies témoigne de l’intérêt grandissant du public pour ce répertoire, anticipant les Goûts réunis et l’inclinaison pour la musique italienne de la Régence / The study concerns the reception of Italian airs in Paris between 1687 and 1715. It consists of two parts: the first one is devoted to the analysis of French volumes containing Italian airs, manuscript and printed, circulating in Paris among the two centuries; the second one concerns the performance of the repertoire of Italian airs in Parisian theatres (Comédie Italienne, Comédie Française and Opera) between the death of Lully (1687) and the death of Louis XIV (1715). As a complementary part of this work, a catalogue of the sources has also been constituted. The documentary corpus consists of Italian airs of the last quarter of the l7th century as the core of the reception of the Italian repertoire and of its impact on the Parisian theatrical world. The identification of the sources, mainly anonymous at the beginning, shows that the airs are Italian opera excerpts. As far as the geographical area concerned. the axis Versailles-Paris appeared as the most appropriate for following the circulation of this repertoire: firstly known by the élite (aristocracy. collectors), it subsequently reached Paris as the consequence of the artistic decentralization from the court to the city at the end of the reign of Louis XIV. The analysis of the Italian airs sung at the Comédie Italienne, the Comédie Française and the Opera show how performers, poets and composers seized this repertoire, closing the ideal cercle of the path of the Italian opera excerpt from its originary stage to the French stage. The continuity of this practice in Parisian theatres during several decades shows the growing interest of the public for this repertoire, anticipating the Goûts réunis and the inclination towards Italian music of the Regency

Cette thèse porte sur Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour, ballet héroïque de Jean-Philippe Rameau sur un livret de Louis de Cahusac, créé le 15 mars 1747 à Versailles à l’occasion du second mariage du Dauphin. L’étude se consacre à l’histoire de l’œuvre, explorant ainsi ses diverses représentations, ses remaniements successifs en passant par le rayonnement de l’opéra sur le spectacle lyrique de l’époque. Elle s’intéresse également à la figure de Louis de Cahusac, à ses théories sur l’opéra et le ballet, aux sources d’inspirations de son livret puisant dans l’égyptologie et la franc-maçonnerie. Elle aborde par ailleurs le traitement musical du compositeur. Pour finir, cette étude propose une édition du livret et de la partition accompagnée d’un apparat critique et du catalogue des sources de l’opéra. / This thesis focuses on Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour, an heroic ballet written by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Louis de Cahusac, created on March 15th, 1747 in Versailles for the Dauphin’s second wedding. The study is about the history of the piece, exploring its various representations, its successive changes and the influence of this opera on the lyric show of the xviiith century. It is also interested in the figure of Louis de Cahusac, his theories on opera and ballet, the inspirations of his libretto drawing Egyptology and Freemasonry. It also addresses the composer’s musical treatment. Lastly, this study offers an edition of the libretto and the score accompanied by a critical apparatus and a catalog’s sources of the opera.

Débutant sa carrière durant les dernières années du règne de Louis XIV sous les auspices de Michel-Richard de Lalande, François Colin de Blamont se fait connaître dans les salons de la Régence par ses airs et ses cantates. Nommé Surintendant de la Musique de la Chambre du jeune Louis XV (1719), il devient l’un des acteurs déterminants de l’évolution des goûts et des pratiques musicales de la Cour. Dans la capitale, il est joué avec succès au Concert Spirituel, à l’Académie royale de musique et dans les cénacles en vue, souffrant toutefois de l’étoile montante de Jean-Philippe Rameau. Ses partitions témoignent de l’ambiguïté musicale française caractéristique du Siècle des Lumières, associant respect de la tradition et recherche de modernité. Ce travail propose de mettre en lumière la carrière et l’Œuvre de ce compositeur en les éclairant par le contexte historique, social et politique. La première partie fait le point sur la jeunesse, la formation et les premières productions de l’auteur. La deuxième partie est consacrée au service de la Cour. La troisième partie aborde le milieu musical parisien et les implications de Colin de Blamont dans les grandes institutions de la capitale. Enfin, la dernière partie tente de porter un regard neuf sur l’auteur, considéré tout à la fois comme homme de cour, esthète et musicien. / François Colin de Blamont started his career during the last years of the reign of Louis XIV under the aegis of Michel-Richard de Lalande. During the Regency, he was mostly known through his arias and cantatas. In 1719, he was appointed ‘Surintendant de la Musique de la Chambre’ of the young Louis XV. He became one of the main personalities involved in the evolution of the tastes and the musical practices at the Court. In Paris, his music was successfully played at the ‘Concert Spirituel’, at the ‘Académie royale de musique’ and in the most famous literary sets, even if the rising star of Jean-Philippe Rameau was to overshadow him. His style shows the musical ambiguity typical of French music of the 18th century, which associated the respect of the tradition with the aspiration to modernity. This study aims to bring to light the career and the works of this composer by considering them in their historical, social and political context. The first part sums up his youth, his training and his first works. The second part is devoted to his career at the Court. The third part explores the Parisian musical environment and the involvement of Colin de Blamont in the main institutions of the city. Finally, the last part will consider the author in a new way, as a man of court, as an esthete and as a musician.

The eighteenth century witnessed a sea change in the French economy. In the century prior, Louis XIV had overseen a tightly regulated feudal economy, explicitly engineered to augment the wealth and power of the reigning monarch. His finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, pioneered a decidedly Gallic form of mercantilism, marked by a system of privileged monopolies whose operations were subject to exacting state control. However, in the decades following the Sun King’s death, the Colbertist paradigm came under threat – eroded by a series of liberalizing initiatives that edged the French economy towards a capitalist modernity. As Enlightenment philosophers touted the freedom and meritocracy of laissez-faire economics, segments of the Third Estate pushed back against the regulations which circumscribed their social autonomy. This tension between capitalist aspiration and mercantilist malaise reached a tipping point in the French Revolution, where a wave of liberalizing reforms wiped away the last vestiges of the Colbertist system. The Ancien Régime’s crumbling network of privileges, monopolies, and feudal hierarchies was replaced by a system of property rights designed to promote entrepreneurialism, free enterprise, and upward mobility. Opera became a key site of deregulation under the Revolution’s capitalist reforms. During the grand siècle, opera functioned as an extension of the absolutist state, with the Académie Royale de Musique – ostensibly a court institution – claiming a total monopoly over operatic performance. However, over the course of the eighteenth century, this primacy was undermined as new competitors challenged its share of the market. The introduction of a state subsidy for the Comédie-Italienne, the growing market for regional and colonial opera (in Marseille, Bordeaux, Saint-Domingue, etc.), and the popularity of commercial entertainments (like the fairground and boulevard theaters) threatened the Académie Royale de Musique’s stranglehold over operatic production, paving the way for the free-market reforms of the Revolution. Finally, in 1791, Isaac René Guy Le Chapelier introduced legislation to liberalize the French theater industry, abolishing theatrical monopolies and ending state subsidies. Theater was now a capitalist enterprise. This dissertation interrogates the relationship between opera and capitalism in eighteenth-century France and its colonies. Taking the Le Chapelier law as its endpoint, it seeks to demonstrate why opera became a central focus of the Revolution’s deregulatory zeal. I position opera at the vanguard of eighteenth-century liberalization efforts, showing how it embraced new commercial techniques and adapted to emerging economic freedoms. A series of institutional histories chart opera’s gradual induction into the capitalist marketplace during the Enlightenment, highlighting institutions that played a pivotal role in challenging Colbertist economic policy. Ultimately, I argue that opera houses, increasingly entangled in nascent forms of French capitalism, became cheerleaders for the burgeoning free market, profiting from affectionate, glamorous, or downright utopian portrayals of commercial life. Opera and capitalism became locked in a self-replicating feedback loop: the more that operatic institutions became enmeshed in the rise of capitalism, the more they promoted capitalist ideals. Seven chapters, proceeding chronologically from the Regency to the Terror, examine vital flashpoints in the intersection of opera and capitalism in eighteenth-century France – culminating in a reappraisal of the Le Chapelier law and its effects on the opera industry. Traversing a range of operatic institutions – in the metropole and in the colonies – these case studies not only show how opera companies embraced capitalist business practices, but also how they reconfigured operatic aesthetics to champion laissez-faire ideologies. The first chapter triangulates the symbiotic relationship between the Théâtres de la Foire, the finance industry, and urban capitalism through an analysis of financier characters in vaudeville comedy. The second chapter situates the vocalizing body of Madame de Pompadour at the intersection of pastoral opera, Italianate musical aesthetics, and physiocratic economic thought, offering a close reading of the operas she commissioned for Théâtre des Petits Cabinets. Chapter 3 explores the forced merger of the Théâtres de la Foire and the Comédie-Italienne in 1762, suggesting that the new hybrid troupe weathered this institutional shift by staging opéras-comiques that depicted the commercial sector. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 turn to the colonial theaters of Saint-Domingue. First, I dissect the business practices of these commercial enterprises, highlighting their reliance on planter capital. Then, I outline the effects of this colonial capitalism on local operatic aesthetics, arguing that Caribbean troupes used promises of celebrity and spectacle to boost ticket sales. I demonstrate that theaters in Saint-Domingue used these unique aesthetic practices to promote a deregulated plantation economy in which planters exercised unmitigated control over enslaved workers. Finally, in Chapter 7, I return to the Comédie-Italienne (now rebranded the Opéra-Comique National) to examine the effects of the Le Chapelier law on theatrical policy during the Terror. Here, I challenge the assumption that the Montagnard regime reversed the economic freedoms wrought by the Le Chapelier law and reposition the revolutionary pièce de circonstance as a decidedly commercial operatic genre. Ultimately, I argue that opera played a vital role in bringing aspects of early capitalism into French public discourse during the eighteenth century. Over the course of this dissertation, I show that lyric theater, in representing a nascent free market onstage, inducted liberal fiscal dogma into the cultural psyche, entrenching it as a central facet of cultural modernity.