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• contents
  • Title page
  • Table of contents
  • Dedication
  • I. Introduction
  • II. The Bedlam State of Mind
  • Welcome to the Theatre
  • III. The Mad Mad Theatre
  • IV. The Mad Singer
  • V. Executing Madness - The Handbook
  • V.III Despair
  • V.IV Melancholy/Grief
  • V.V Fear
  • V.VI Anger
  • V.VII Wonder and Hope
  • V.VIII Love
  • V.IX Desire
  • V.X Joy
  • V.XI Revenge
  • V.XII Melancholy/Grief and Fear
  • V.XIII The whole song
  • VI. Observations and Reflections
  • VII. Final Conclusions
  • Appendix
  • Bibliography
  • Thank you
  • Victoria Oftestad
• abstract
  As a tourist in London during the late 17th century, it was mandatory to visit the House of Bedlam, the biggest mental institution in the city. The patients, being considered completely unreasonable, were attributed animalic characteristics, which was reflected in the brutal treatment behind the bars. The ultimate mirroring of the culture of exposing madness could be found in the theatre. Composers for the theatre, in wanting to explore the inability of reason in humanity, wrote The Mad Songs, where the madness is reflected in quick shifts in emotions. These songs have been my tool to gain access to a broader palette of expression in singing. I have developed a handbook of historically informed techniques and documented my process of embodying them, using sources such as Le Brun's "Conférence (...)" (1698); Walter Charleton's "Natural History of the Passions" (1701); Aaron Hill's "The Art of Acting" (1753); and George Vandenhoff's "The Art of Elocution" (1846). My quest for madness has also become a quest for genuinity. When Charles Le Brun conveyed his theory of expression on canvas, he strongly distinguished the difference between painting tense muscles and painting genuine expression. This has become a guideline for my research: in order to gain genuinity, one has to channel a reaction and produce an impulse. This study is an attempt to bridge the gap between now and then, allowing for a deeper understanding of the Mad Songs, as well as encouraging others to dive into theatrical repertoire on its own premises.
• Victoria Oftestad - Tracing the Madness - 2025
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