John Rich (1692-1761) was a profoundly influential figure of the eighteenth-century London stage. As producer, manager, and performer, he transformed the urban entertainment market, creating genres and promotional methods still with us today. This volume gives the first comprehensive overview of Rich’s multifaceted career, appreciation of which has suffered from his performing identity as Lun, London’s most celebrated Harlequin. Far from the lightweight buffoon that this stereotype has suggested, Rich—the first producer of The Beggar’s Opera, the founder of Covent Garden, the dauntless backer of Handel, and the promoter of the principal dancers from the Parisian opera—is revealed as an agent of changes much more enduring than those of his younger contemporary, David Garrick. Contributions by leading scholars from a range of disciplines—theatre, dance, music, art, and cultural history—provide detailed analyses of Rich’s productions and representations. These findings complement Robert D. Hume’s lead article, a study that radically alters our perception of Rich.
Published by University of Delaware Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.
Introduction / Berta Joncus and Jeremy Barlow
Management. John Rich as manager and entrepreneur / Robert D. Hume
The finances of an eighteenth-century theatre : the Lincoln's Inn Fields Company under John Rich in 1724-1725 / Judith Milhous
What the prompter saw : the diary of Rich's prompter, John Stede / David Hunter
John Rich, theatrical regulation, and the dilemma of the commercial stage / Matthew J. Kinservik
Dance theatre. John Rich, French dancing, and English pantomimes / Moira Goff
Harlequin choreographies : repetition, difference, and representation / Linda J. Tomko
Pierrot strikes back : Francois Nivelon at Lincoln's Inn Fields and Covent Garden, 1723-1738 / Jennifer Thorp
Musical theatre. Good for the Garden : the composition of Handel's Ariodante / Donald Burrows
"Heathen gods and heroes" : singers and John Rich's pantomimes at Lincoln's Inn Fields / Olive Baldwin and Thelma Wilson
The Beggar's opera in London's theatres, 1728-1761 / Jeremy Barlow
Beyond The Beggar's opera : John Rich and English ballad opera, 1728-1736 / Berta Joncus and Vanessa L. Rogers
Dramatic theatre. The impact of the Shakespeare Ladies Club on John Rich's repertory in the 1737-738 theatrical season : Shakespeare versus pantomme? / Fiona Ritchie
The nation in breeches : actress Margaret Woffington / Felicity Nussbaum
Scenography and iconography. Scenographies behind the scenes : mapping, classifying, and interpreting John Rich's 1744 inventory of Covent Garden / Ana Martinez
Harlequin Newton: John Rich's Necromancer and the public ccience of the 1720s / Al Coppola
Hogarth and Rich : gesture and expression in The beggar's opera / Robin Simon
Picturing Rich / Marcus Risdell
