In opera, human feelings are sung. Until Rossini, operatic plots described emotions in an abstract way: love, hatred, jealousy, envy, pride, considered as categories. With the emergence of romanticism, the focus turns to the situation of a specific character, who reacts to other characters who are also individualised. Romanticism exchanges the AFFAIRS of classicism for true PASSION.
This portrayal of feeling as the main cause of the character’s behaviour is done at the cost of blurring the environment. Nature is a mere backdrop and the historical setting is of interest not for its authenticity, but as a trigger for the psychological shudders of the protagonists. In the opera, the Middle Ages are made of papier-mâché.

‘The Description de l’Égipte’, published between 1809 and 1829, Champollion’s decipherment of the hieroglyphic writing in 1822, expeditions such as the Prussian expedition led by Richard Lepsius between 1842 and 1845, and the continuous discovery of tombs, temples and treasures in Egypt, laid the foundations for an Egyptomania present in the nascent Egyptological collections of the great European museums, in paintings such as those of David Roberts, and in the descriptions that travellers and explorers made of their experiences in Egypt.
This atmosphere of colossal scenery and riches was captured in the opera Aida. Premiered at the Cairo Opera House on 24 December 1871, two years after the opening of the Suez Canal, where Johann Strauss II’s Egyptian March Op. 335 was performed. Auguste Mariette, founder of the Egyptian Antiquities Conservation Service, worked on the plot, costumes and characterisation of the characters.

On this day dedicated to 16th- and 17th-century sculpture, five experts will provide the latest news on different masterpieces from the National Archaeological Museum, created by great Spanish and foreign artists. They will also situate them in various contexts together with other productions of their time in order to offer a better understanding of their value and significance. They will deal with various genres of sculpture, mainly imagery and its presence in carved pieces such as choir stalls, altarpieces and façades, as well as its relationship with other artistic specialities such as architecture, silverware and painting.