THE Marie Antoinette SALON SERIES
Julia Doe, Host
REGISTRATION AND THESE SESSIONS HAVE PASSED, HOWEVER PLEASE FEEL FREE TO WATCH THE RECORDED CONVERSATIONS AND VIEW THE POWERPOINTS BELOW.
Join Opera Lafayette and host Julia Doe, for this three-part online Salon Series about Marie Antoinette, an incredible woman in history who shaped much of French musical tastes in the 18th century and inspired our 2022 musical season (get tickets). Each session will feature a unique look into her life, led by different guest scholars weekly.
As the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Marie Antoinette had an extraordinary education in music and dance. After marrying the French Dauphin in 1770 and becoming Queen of France in 1774, she became a patron of contemporary composers and performed frequently in her own salon as a harpist.
Julia Doe (pictured) is Assistant Professor of Music at Columbia University, and author of The Comedians of the King: Opéra Comique and the Bourbon Monarchy on the Eve of Revolution. She is a beloved host for Opera Lafayette salons, previously leading one on Opéra Comique in the 2021 season.
Marie Antoinette, Queen of Fashion – With Guest Scholar Caroline Weber
Wednesday, April 6, 2022, 6 PM EST
This presentation will focus on Marie Antoinette’s role as a tastemaker across a variety of media, extending from music to fashion and the decorative arts to garden design, and it will examine the changing political backdrop against which her stylistic choices were made.
Music at Marie Antoinette’s Versailles – With Guest Host Julia Doe
Wednesday, April 13, 2022, 6 PM EST
This presentation will offer a deeper dive into Marie Antoinette’s activities as a musical performer and patron. We’ll first detail how music infused Marie Antoinette’s private life at Versailles, addressing the queen’s vocal and instrumental training, her salon concerts, and her participation in amateur theatricals at the Petit Trianon. We’ll then consider how Marie Antoinette’s artistic preferences influenced the broader evolution of French musical style, examining her relationships with key composers of the Enlightenment, and her impact on the ceremonial repertory of the Bourbon court.
Marie Antoinette's Musical Legacies - With Guest Scholar Rebecca Geoffroy-Schwinden
Wednesday, April 20, 2022, 6 PM EST
This presentation will explore the political repercussions of Marie Antoinette's musical practices during her lifetime and beyond. We will begin with a discussion of how the Parisian public interpreted her musical choices on the eve of the French Revolution. Then, we will meet her first lady-in-waiting, Madame Campan, who, after narrowly escaping the guillotine, dared to carry on Marie Antoinette's musical legacy in an elite school for girls. Finally, we will delve into the personal and practical significance of music-making for women in the wake of Marie Antoinette's death, as Napoleon tried to silence them legally and literally. In this context, Marie Antoinette became an icon as well as a cautionary tale, and we shall learn how music was implicated in both.