Theatermania in Eighteenth-Century Europe: An Interdisciplinary and Contextual Approach to the History of Theater

The Group Volume Distinguishes Itself By Its Multidisciplinary, Comparative Approach And By The Network Of Relationships It Weaves Between The Various European Languages And Cultures. The Study Takes Shape From Its Different Viewpoints And In Its Diverse Contexts, To Chart A Detailed Historical-conceptual Map Of The Basic Role Theater Played In Forging The Modern European Consciousness. The Thematic Core Of ‘theatermania’ Lay In The Authentic Theatrical Passion That Manifested Itself In Different Ways From One Country To Another Throughout The 18th Century. While The Aesthetic, Social And Political Value Of Theater Took A Variety Of Forms, Its Central Feature Was The Privileged Place It Gave To Collective And Individual Social Revolutions, Phenomena That Could Be Defined As Upheavals Of The Collective Imagination, Which Found In Theater A Source Of Nourishment, Mediation Or Control. The Volume Offers Not Just A Series Of Historical-theatrical Studies, But A View Of History That Foregrounds The Passions That Were Regularly Sparked By Theater. It Adds An Essential Feature To The Profile Of The Century That Redefined The Role And Importance Of Theater, And That Led To Its Full Re-evaluation In The Romantic Age. Frontmatter -- Table Of Contents -- Introduction -- Part I: Theatermania – The Construction Of The Individual -- ‘theatrical Manias’. Karl Philipp Moritz And Late Eighteenth-century Theatermania -- Sacrificial Manias. Imagination, Theatrum Mundi And Renunciation In Anton Reiser -- From Comédie Larmoyante To Lacrymanie. Metamorphosis Of Sensibility In Late Eighteenth-century French Theater -- Is It A Tragedy? Is It A Comedy? J.m.r. Lenz’s Theatrical Aesthetics -- Theatermania And Investigation Of The Self -- Transgression And Moralism. Lessing And The Vain Seduction Of Sin -- Identity Construction And Theatermania In Richard Cumberland -- Part Ii: Theatermania – The Construction Of Society -- Voltaire And The Théâtres De Société -- La Théâtromanie, A Comedy By Pierre De La Montagne. Theater, Mimesis And Contagion -- Revolutionary Theatermania -- Goethe And Theater As “das Zusammenbrennende, Zusammentreffende Ganze” -- The Novel Of Theater And The Theater Of The Novel. Towards A Definition Of Theatermania In England From The Age Of Shakespeare To That Of The Revolutions -- Venetian Theatermanias -- Theater And The Arts In The Treatises On Political Economy Of Eighteenth-century Italian Reformers: Population, Public, Spectator -- Index Of Names Ed. By Sonia Bellavia. Issued Also In Print. Mode Of Access: Internet Via World Wide Web. In English.