A exibição da peça teatral, ou da cena histórica, Um sarau no Paço de São Cristóvão, produzida por Paulo Setúbal a pedido da Liga das Senhoras Católicas de São Paulo, no Teatro Municipal em 1926, em duas apresentações, que se tornaram quatro devido ao sucesso de público nos apresenta uma grande interrogação: o que queria a elite cafeeira e republicana paulista com um elogio a figura da primeira imperatriz do Brasil, menos de quarenta anos após o fim do Império? Era um projeto de governo? Um projeto de país e de cultura? Era apenas diversão, já que os atores eram todos amadores e pertencentes às famílias da elite? Quais os possíveis significados deste espetáculo, que obteve muito sucesso de público e grande exposição na imprensa paulistana, para a História e a memória de São Paulo e do Brasil? / The theater play (or historical scene) Um sarau no Paço de São Cristóvão exhibition, produced by Paulo Setúbal as a request of the Catholic Ladies League of São Paulo, at Teatro Municipal de São Paulo in 1926, in two presentations, which became four due to the successful audience, proposes such a question: what was the objective of the republican coffee producing elite praising Brazils first empress figure, less than forty years after empire ending? Was it a project of government? Of country and of culture? Was it just an amusement considering the actors were non-professional and belonged to the families of the elite? Which can possibly mean this show, which were successful in audience and was widely covered by São Paulos press, to the History and to the memory of São Paulo and Brazil?

A exibição da peça teatral, ou da cena histórica, Um sarau no Paço de São Cristóvão, produzida por Paulo Setúbal a pedido da Liga das Senhoras Católicas de São Paulo, no Teatro Municipal em 1926, em duas apresentações, que se tornaram quatro devido ao sucesso de público nos apresenta uma grande interrogação: o que queria a elite cafeeira e republicana paulista com um elogio a figura da primeira imperatriz do Brasil, menos de quarenta anos após o fim do Império? Era um projeto de governo? Um projeto de país e de cultura? Era apenas diversão, já que os atores eram todos amadores e pertencentes às famílias da elite? Quais os possíveis significados deste espetáculo, que obteve muito sucesso de público e grande exposição na imprensa paulistana, para a História e a memória de São Paulo e do Brasil? / The theater play (or historical scene) Um sarau no Paço de São Cristóvão exhibition, produced by Paulo Setúbal as a request of the Catholic Ladies League of São Paulo, at Teatro Municipal de São Paulo in 1926, in two presentations, which became four due to the successful audience, proposes such a question: what was the objective of the republican coffee producing elite praising Brazils first empress figure, less than forty years after empire ending? Was it a project of government? Of country and of culture? Was it just an amusement considering the actors were non-professional and belonged to the families of the elite? Which can possibly mean this show, which were successful in audience and was widely covered by São Paulos press, to the History and to the memory of São Paulo and Brazil?

The Victoria regia was discovered in British Guiana in 1837, and for over ten years explorers and scientists tried different methods to transport viable seeds back to England. When the seeds were finally on British soil, no one could grow them successfully except Joseph Paxton, the head gardener for the Duke of Devonshire. Paxton built a special glass house at Chatsworth estate to mimic the tropical climate the Amazonian lily required, and created an innovative tank that was heated with coal and fitted with an apparatus to gently keep the water moving, replicating freshwater rivers. The œvegetable wonder, as it came to be known, had floating leaves measuring up to 6 feet in diameter and was considered truly magnificent. To reveal the successful growth of the œqueen of aquatics to the public, Paxton dressed his seven-year-old daughter Annie in a fairy costume, dimmed the lights, and set her on the largest of the floating leaves. She stood there and created a theatrical tableau that transfixed all who saw it. This performance, which I am calling a œbotanical-theatrical event, is the site of my examination. Drawing on ecocritical perspectives and performance studies, I argue that this presentation was coded with social and political messaging that reinforced English national identity and imperial intentions. The lily was a signifier of the exotic, while the child was a signifier of the domestic. This botanical-theatrical event was deeply significant because it embodied the social and political views of the time, acting out the British Empire being œon top of, and supported by, the œuncivilized world. The water lily had been taken from its natural habitat, transported across the ocean and grown in a manipulated environment. It became a specimen/spectacle. The little girl had been taken out of her natural habitat, dressed as another creature and displayed on the floating leaf. She also became a specimen/spectacle. The interaction between these two organisms in this theatrical exhibition synthesized a physical representation of Imperialism that was powerful to the people of the time because of the social and political system in which they lived.

”vivid and fiery”
  Carolina Müller as phenomenon at the Royal Theatre Carolina Müller is identical with the Royal Theatre and she was the first professional female opera singer in Sweden. The audience’s perception of her stage personality and her agency in her portrayal of the title role in C. W. Gluck’s opera Alceste at the Stockholm opera in 1781 will throw light on her quality; her singing and acting style according to the affect she created on stage linked to the age of sensibility. Carolina Müller’s agency constitutes a gap in Swedish theatre history which will be examined in order to reach a better understanding of the structures behind her position. Willmar Sauter’s concept of the theatrical event, but with a feministic perspective on the role of the actress, is used to analyze her performativity, which I characterize as both passionate and sentimental. I use historical descriptive sources to understand her stage personality, and I will look into her performance of Alceste from the perspective of late eighteenth century acting. Secondly, I look into the prescriptive sources linked to Alceste, to examine how her stage personality affected the production, she had a great impact on the creation of the opera characters written for her after her Alceste. Finally, I highlight how the European exchange allowed her to emerge as a phenomenon. Telling her story is a contribution to the history of the prima donnas of the north, and thereby to the field of feminist historiography.  Carolina Müller, Gluck, Alceste, actress, Royal Theatre, phenomenon, stage personality, agency, theatrical event, performativity, sensibility, gaze