Een negentiende-eeuws melodrama in Nederland: De voddenraper van Parijs

Until recently the study of 19th-century theatre in the Netherlands was marked by a so-called decline discourse: the view that Dutch theatre ended up in a crisis with the demise of the classicist tragedy and its matching playing style. This article advocates an investigation into the theatrical production of this time of ‘crisis’ and more specifically into the Dutch productions of French melodramas. As an example the Dutch reception of Félix Pyat’s Le Chiffonnier de Paris (1847) is analysed: the play’s social message seems to be preserved, albeit tempered. Apparently most Dutch critics were not bothered by the fact that Pyat’s play had contributed to the social unrest in Paris. As opposed to the situation in France’s Second Empire Le Chiffonnier was part of the Dutch repertoire for years to come.