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In society, on stage
Under the Ancien Régime, it was the custom for artists to appear on stage wearing their own jewellery. Its quality was a clue to their status, and to the favour they enjoyed from the powerful or from their admirers.
Little by little, dramatic verisimilitude led the Paris Opera to provide its artists with stage jewellery.
The permeability between fashion jewellery and stage jewellery disappeared, although, even in the 19th century, a desire for the spectacular sometimes prevailed over the need for realism. For example, Louis-Désiré Véron, director of the Opera from 1831 until 1835, asked the artists to “wear their most beautiful jewellery on stage, if they have any.”
The sketches for costumes and jewellery are the initial designs permitting their manufacture for the stage. They provide all the information necessary for their creation, such as the materials to be used, the colours and, in the case of costumes, fabric samples pinned to the sheet.
Depending on the painters, decorators or costume designers, these drawings can be very detailed or, on the contrary, elliptic, leaving the workshops with the task of interpreting the creator’s wishes as best they can, taking into account the constraints imposed by the materials used or by the performers’ movements.
This explains why the jewellery produced sometimes differs from the drawings. Among the costume designers who worked regularly at the Opera during the second half of the 19th century were Charles Bianchini (1859 – 1905) and Joseph Porphyre Pichon (1871 – 1953) who also created the character Bécassine!
Ring that belonged to the singer Christine Nilsson / BnF, département de la Musique, Bibliothèque-musée de l’Opéra
Brooch and earrings once belonging to the dancer Antonia Mercé y Luque, known as "La Argentina" / BnF, département de la Musique, Bibliothèque-musée de l’Opéra
Lyre-shaped brooch once belonging to the singer Gabrielle Krauss / Frédéric Boucheron, 1884 - Gold and diamonds / BnF, département de la Musique, Bibliothèque-musée de l’Opéra
Portrait of Marie Taglioni, in full dress, wearing a white gauze dress and a red scarf hanging over her left shoulder. / BnF, département de la Musique, Bibliothèque-musée de l’Opéra
Model of Marguerite's costume in ‘Faust’ by Charles Gounod / BnF, département de la Musique, Bibliothèque-musée de l’Opéra
Caroline Miolan-Carvalho in the role of Marguerite in ‘Faust’ by Charles Gounod / BnF, département de la Musique, Bibliothèque-musée de l’Opéra
Poster for the opera ‘Faust’ by Charles Gounod / BnF, département de la Musique, Bibliothèque-musée de l’Opéra
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
From 28 November 2024 to 28 March 2025 inclusive, at the Paris Opera Library Museum - Palais Garnier
The exhibition is accessible as part of a visit to the Palais Garnier, except on days when it is closed for special events (check calendar) :
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