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Cicéri and Daguerre: Set Designers for the Paris Opera, 1820–1822

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2010

Barry V. Daniels
Barry V. Daniels
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor of Drama at the University of Texas at Austin.
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Extract

In 1820 Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri (1782–1868) and Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851) were the two most successful set designers in Paris, and for a two-year period (1820–1822) they shared the most prestigious design position in France: chief designer at the Paris Opera. During the Empire both men had worked at the Opera under the supervision of the designers Degotti and Isabey, Cicéri as a staff painter specializing in paysages and Daguerre as a day laborer specializing in the painting of architectural detail. In 1816, when Cicéri was promoted to the position of chief designer at the Opera, Daguerre worked briefly on his staff.

Type
Articles
Information
Theatre Survey , Volume 22 , Issue 1: French Theatre , May 1981 , pp. 69 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © American Society for Theatre Research 1981

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References

NOTES

1 The major portion of the research for this article was carried out in Paris at the Bibliothèque Nationale, the Bibliothèque de l'Opéra, and the Archives Nationales. I am grateful to the staffs of these libraries for their help. I would especially like to thank Mile N. Wild of the Opéra and Mme Labat-Poussin of the Archives Nationales. I would also like to thank the Research Office of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, for the grant which allowed me to complete this project.

The abbreviations AN for Archives Nationales and OPE for Bibliothèque de l'Opéra (followed by call numbers) will be used to locate manuscript material cited in this article.

All translations are my own. I have left the term ferme in French. It originally designated pieces raised from below the stage at the back of the set. During the nineteenth century it came to be used for any free-standing unit on the stage.

2 In another article, in preparation, I will examine Daguerre's apprenticeship at the Paris Opera during the Empire and his design work at the Ambigu-Comique theatre from 1816 to 1822.

3 See H. and Gernsheim's, A.L. J. M. Daguerre (New York, 1968)Google Scholarfor a detailed study of the Diorama.

4 Castil-Blaze, , Théâtres Lyriques de Paris: L'Académie Imperiale de Musique (Paris, 1855), II, 160Google Scholar. Degotti's last designs were for the revival of Oedipe à Colonne, 8 May 1822. This production excepted, the designs for the Opera between 1820 and 1822 were supervised by Cicéri and Daguerre.

5 This note and a similar one for the Aladin designs are reproduced in the appendix.

6 The “Etat des Matériaux” indicates that a set from the court theatre, to which Antiochus' bed was added, was used for the March 1821 premiere of this production. A 90 franc charge for painting indicates that very little new painting was done. Apparently the new set, listed on the note of 20 May 1822, was designed for the transfer to the new building in the summer of 1821.

7 Paris, 1820, p. 7.

8 Paris, 1821, p. 27. This is actually the description for the second set in Act II. In the production Act I was placed in this setting.

9 Both the expense sheet of 20 May 1821, and a similar account sheet, dated 6 June 1821 (AN. O3 1653), are signed by Daguerre.

10 Paris, 1821, pp. 66–68. The sets for Les Bayadères arc listed in the Inventory, ff. 72–75. The sets for Acts I and II are dated 1810; the set for Act III is not dated. Figure Il illustrates the set for Act I at the revival of 1821.

11 The following account in Le Déjeuner (6 April 1821) indicates the state of the scenery at the theatre as well as the public interest generated by the preparations for the production:

Everything must contribute to the splendor of the new production. Never did the genius of Servandoni, Moench, or Degotti, approach the marvels created by Daguerre and Cicéri. For six months all the ateliers of the Menus-Plaisirs have been filled with drops, fermes, and flats. Beside Aladin's cabin there stand the brilliant [components] of the Palace of the Sun; the boudoir of the Princesse de Cachemire is decorated with precious carpets; the columns of the bronze palace are constructed in a hundred diverse manners simultaneously. The magic of perspective is carried to its highest degree. The artists no longer paint; they employ rate metals and precious stones: gold and silver, topazes, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds make up the ornamentation of these astonishing sets…

The Courrier des Spectacles (14 June 1821) gives a similar account of the sets.

The history of the delays and expenses can be traced through records and accounts at the Opera and the Archives Nationales. On 12 August 1821 the painters were requested to complete their work within two months. (AN. AJ13 122) A detailed breakdown of work completed and to be completed by the paint shop, dated 1 September 1821 (AN. O3 1658) indicates that two sets were entirely finished (Act IV, Act V, set 1), and two sets remained to be entirely painted (Acts I and II). Notes of 23–24 September 1821 (OPE. 426 and 539) indicate the administration's desire to open the opera by the end of October. On 5 November 1821 (OPE. 539) the designers promised the completion of the sets within two weeks. At the end of December the production had still not opened and problems had developed with the installation of the gas lighting (AN. O3 1654). Thus, the sets were probably completed by December of 1821. The gas lighting was not ready until the end of January 1822.

12 Castil-Blaze, p. 173.

13 See reviews in the Courrier Français, 8 February; the Drapeau Blanc, 7 February; the Journal des Débats, 8 February; the Quotidienne, 8 February; the Courrier des Spectacles, 7 February; the Journal de Paris, 7 February; the Constitutionnel, 8 and 11 February; the Journal des Théâtre, 8 February; and the Miroir des Spectacles, 7, 8, 11 and 17 February.

14 All descriptions are from the published text, Paris, 1822.

15 This design was found among the Cambon papers at the Bibliothèque de l'Opéra and appears to be similar in style to the other Cambon renderings. Cambon did not work at the Opera in 1822; it is possible that this rendering is for another Aladin designed by Cambon or that he admired the drawing by Daguerre and left it among his own papers. To my knowledge no other set design sketches by Daguerre have survived. The drawing style of this rendering is similar, however, to that of several drawings by Daguerre, notably the sketch for the Diorama “The Temple of Jerusalem” (reproduced in Gernsheim, op. cit., plate 10) and two sketches in the Musée Besançon collection. For this reason and the fact that the rendering does conform to the Inventory material for Act III of Aladin, I will accept the attribution of this design to Daguerre.

16 It is interesting to observe that the lustre was not completely dimmed here. The Miroir des Spectacles (17 February) notes: “At the moment Aladin's lamp is extinguished the veil of darkness which extends into the house does not yet appear fully opaque; one should be able to see only what moves on the stage…”

17 A note from the prop master to Cicéri indicates that Cicéri did design this act. (AN. AJ13 133)

18 Discussed in Bergman, Gosta, Lighting in the Theatre (Totowa, N. J., 1977), p. 130.Google Scholar

19 For details of the negotiations concerning Daguerre's resignation see letters and notes at the Opéra and the Archives Nationales (OPE. 422, no. 92, OPE. 42, no. 163, AN. O3 1660, AN. 03 1658).