@ARTICLE{10.21494/ISTE.OP.2021.0664, TITLE={The Americas sung and danced: Panorama of European performances dedicated to the New World, from the 16th century to the present day}, AUTHOR={Pascal Mongne, }, JOURNAL={Art and Science}, VOLUME={5}, NUMBER={Issue 2
}, YEAR={2021}, URL={https://www.openscience.fr/The-Americas-sung-and-danced-Panorama-of-European-performances-dedicated-to-the}, DOI={10.21494/ISTE.OP.2021.0664}, ISSN={2515-8767}, ABSTRACT={For five centuries, the Americas have been seen, described, imagined and interpreted according to the political and intellectual interests that animated Old Europe. These representations are based on the multiple testimonies that came from the continent (accounts of conquests and explorations), on images composed on the spot or recreated in workshops, and of course on objects brought back by the thousands. But they were also inspired by examples produced in Europe: philosophical essays and adventure novels, sculptures and paintings, architectural elements, popular illustrations and later photography, cinema and advertising. In this vast range, one domain holds our attention, that of sung and danced performances, masquerades and balls, parades and carousels, interludes and "entrances" of royal operas or ballroom operas, pantomime ballets and operas of the Romantic period, up to the more recent operettas. In fact, the tradition of musical spectacle in old Europe has given - since the 16th century - a place to the Americas. Within the framework of this work, have been identified 420 musical and dance performances (including parades and balls) that were created in Europe, on the theme of the Americas, their landscapes and their inhabitants, or in which the latter play a role, even a minor one.This text presents the evolution of these performances within a historical panorama, the first step of a future study on the iconography of "Americanist" sets, costumes, machinery and accessories.}}