[A] compelling contribution to French dance and music history. The author's new and important insights contribute much to our understanding of the dramatic achievements of the 'historical avant-garde' in the early decades of the twentienth century.
DANCE RESEARCH REVIEW
Gutsche-Miller's work not only illuminates the supposed 'Dark Ages' of French ballet, but also provides a vital corrective to ... Read moreconventional wisdom about the cultural context into which Diaghilev launched his troupe. A lucid and lively history that vividly reconstructs the art world of Parisian music-hall ballet at its three principal venues: the Folies-Bergères, the Olympia, and the Casino de Paris. Serves as a caution against focusing too narrowly on activities at only the most powerful and prestigious 'high art' institutions. The book's generous appendices...will prove an invaluable reference for scholars wishing to investigate thsi repertory further. MUSIC & LETTERS [Helena Kopchick Spencer]
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Gutsche-Miller's meticulous research provides a glimpse of these now-lost ballets, created at the impressive rate of four to six new works per year. Points to canny ways that composers used music to evoke place, atmosphere, and character . . . Gutsche-Miller's greatest contribution lies in her insistence that this popular genre is worthy of serious scholarly inquiry.
NINETEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH STUDIES
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