I propose to examine the construction of orientalism in the Third Republic France before 1914 by exploring three of its points of contact: with the reality of French military members’ experience in Indochina, with its counterpart in fiction (namely operas) and with official government policy in Indochina. I will do this by looking at the orientalist/exotic elements in contemporary operas including Bizet’s Carmen (1875), Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila (1877), d’Indy’s Fervaal (1889-1895) and Léo Delibes’s Lakmé (1883). These operas will be analyzed to see any linkages with what soldiers who served in Indochina related upon their return to France or with what the government felt about Indochina. In order to determine how particular this construction of orientalism was, there will be a comparison with Russian orientalism through Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel (1907) and Russia’s experience in the Russo-Japanese War. Images from the musical score are included in JPEG format while musical excerpts are available as audio files.
- The Construct of Orientalism in Third Republic France Opera, Politics and Personal Experience in Indochina
- Victoria Waxman
- Rudolph Binion (Advisor)
- Brandeis University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; Master of Arts (MA)
- Master of Arts (MA), Brandeis University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Brandeis University
- Brandeis University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- 10192/23210; 9923879979301921
- Copyright by Victoria Waxman 2009
- Department of History
- English
- Thesis