Description

Following on from the volume on The King’s Theatre, Haymarket, 1778-1791 (published by OUP in 1995), this interdisciplinary study of opera and ballet now turns to London’s Pantheon Opera during the period 1789-95. The Pantheon Opera, founded in 1790, aimed to give London a kind of court opera that would feature opera seria and ballet d’action. It tried to hire Mozart to compete with Haydn, but its high aspirations led only to a quick bankruptcy. A recent major archival discovery has permitted startlingly full analysis of the company’s repertoire, costumes, staging practices, and finances.

CONTENTS

A Note on Names, Titles, Quotation Policy, and Currency
Abbreviations and Works Frequently Cited
Part 1: The Pantheon and the History of Opera in London, 1789-1795
1 The Establishment of the Pantheon Opera
2 The Pantheon Experiment, 1790-91
3 The Fire and the Little Haymarket Season, 1791-92
4 The Return to the King’s Theatre, Haymarket. 1792-1795
Epilogue
Part 2: The Pantheon Enterprise: Architecture, Production, Repertoire, and Finances
Introduction
5 The Architecture of the Pantheon Opera-House
6 Departmental Organization, Treasurer, House Servants, and Tradesmen
7 The Production Process
8 The Opera
9 The Ballet
10 Finances
Part 3: Appendices
I. Personnel and Tradesmen
II. Selected Contracts
III. The Pantheon Scene Inventory
IV. The Wardrobe Book
V. Versions of La locanda
VI. Subscribers
VII. Chancery and Exchequer Lawsuits Concerning the Opera
VIII. A Short Catalogue of the Bedford Opera Papers
Index