Drama at First Sight: Characterisation of the Role via Costume in Noverre's Ballets

Together with the development of heroic and tragic ballet en action, the stage costumes gained new urgency in the meaning they created. A complicated play, involving several characters with various agendas and motivations, recounted entirely without words, required clear characterisation of the personages through their action and through their clothes. Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810) was well aware of this necessity and actively took part int eh discussion about the on-going costume reform. 

In my presentation, I will analyse the costumes for Noverre's tragic and heroic ballets (Médée et Jason, Renauld et Armide), created by his long-term collaborator, Louis-René Boquet (1717-1814), who also worked for the official stages in Paris. Sketches, engravings and descriptions in the inventories recorded the costumes of these ballets, even though the actual garments have vanished. I will examine the visual and sartorial practices Boquet used to depict the various characters, their status, provenance and even inner characteristics. To what extent were his designs inspired by historical painting and by his work for the opera? How did they relate to the fashion of the time, and to on-going costume reform? What were the specificities of the costumes for ballet? Both aesthetic and social requirements are layered in the visual appearance of the ballet, reflecting the turbulent period in which it was created.