Synesthesia-effects Through Natural Impressions and Spectacle in the Open-air Performance of the Opéra-ballet 'Les Quatre Saisons', Dresden 1719

Les Quatre Saisons, conceived by Augustus the Strong for the wedding of his son Friedrich August to the Archduchess Maria Josepha, is one of the productions in which natural sensory impressions were intentionally combined with artistic ones. These synesthetic effects were usefully exploited in the staging of the piece in a natural theater of the Royal Great Garden for a vivid representation of the story. In the atmosphere of the Golden Autumn Venus, Mercury and Apollo, the godfathers of the bridegroom, descend into the garden to demonstrate to the wedding guests the merits of their godchild and, as it were, to offer good wishes for the couple. Thus the wealth of the country is demonstrated in the advantages of the respective season - there are dancing farmers, flower girls, harvesters and vintners, who present their rich goods. It dances Cupid, suggesting that the dynasty is secure and maintains stability through the cycle of the seasons. In this lecture it will be shown how natural sensory impressions can be used for a staging of a ballet. The discussion will be based on historical sources of the premiere in 1808 as well as the video recording of the opéra-ballet scenic revival in 2006. 

Uta Dorothea Sauer studied Musicology, History and Psychology at the Technical University of Dresden. During her studies she was an assistant at the todays European Center for the Arts in Dresden. After graduating, she worked at the Institute for Art and Social Sciences at the TU Dresden (until 2017). During this time she did her doctorate on "Dance and Representation of the Wettins and their Allies int he Protestant Area 1600-1725". The dissertation was published by musiconn in 2018. After completing her doctorate, she shifted her professional interests more towards Modern Cultural History and worked at the Institute for Saxon History and Anthropology. 2019-21 she was a research fellow of the project " German Heritage in Letters" at the German Historical Institute, Washington DC in cooperation with the department of International History at Trier University. In 2021, she worked as a guest scientist at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She is currently employed as lecturer in History at the Preparatory Colleges of TU Dresden and Unipark Institute. Furthermore she is dealing with the internationality of Early Modern Dance.