Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2017 - Public - 43

flags; the Swedish roles have blue and yellow in their
costumes, and Danish roles use red and black. Here,
color is emblematic of a Kingdom and indicates the
significance that color would continue to have for what
came to be known as nation states or republics in the
twentieth century.
CAROUSELS AND TOURNAMENTS
During Gustaf III's reign, several tournaments, also
called carousels, were held at the center of Stockholm or
at the Drottningholm, Ulriksdahl, or Gripsholm castle
grounds. Gustavian tournaments included elements
from freemasonry, mystique, and romanticism and combined dancing, theatre, and chivalrous sports. The main
inspirations for these events came from France, where
romantic chivalry was flourishing in the performing arts
during the 18th century, inspired by the medieval revivals. They also followed the old tournament tradition in
Sweden and other European countries. However, Gustaf pushed these events even further, turning them into
theatrical phenomena. Because he was seeking a "total
aesthetic experience" with the tournaments, every event
had a special theme (Rangström L 1984: 30, Rangström
T 1992: 244). Gustaf III's interest in costume reached
to the planning of tournaments, in which all participants had strict rules on how to dress. Costumes for the
tournaments were either made especially for the occasion or were borrowed from the Royal Armory or Royal
Opera wardrobes.
Many different sources inspired Gustaf III to design costumes for himself and the participants in the
tournaments. For example, during his travels to France,
he witnessed theatrical costumes by watching French
performances. He was known to try on a costume from
Belloy's play Gaston et Bayard, which displayed male
and female costumes resembling the late 17th century
French fashions (Rangström L 1997: 146, author's translation). Furthermore, his wardrobe inventory reveals
that in 1777, Gustaf III borrowed a doublet and a pair
of breeches belonging to the preceding king, Gustaf
Vasa, for examination from the Royal Armory archive.
Gustaf had also requested from the guard at the court
to give him a private tour of the preceding king's wardrobes (Rangström L 1997: 148, author's translation). This
demonstrates that Gustaf did historical costume research himself and adapted these ideas to the costumes
worn on tournaments and in his own plays and operas.
Possibly as a result of Gustaf 's interest in older
fashions and his adaptation of them for tournaments
and theatre productions, a new type of performance
costume, a "Burgundian" costume evolved at the Swedish court. This style incorporates and re-interprets elements from historical clothing; up until the late 18th
century, theatrical costumes mostly resembled everyday
fashion. Historical depictions were mostly interpretations of Greek and Roman soldier's clothing. The historically inspired Burgundian costume became regularly
used in Gustavian tournaments and in Gustaf 's own
plays. The earliest example of the Burgundian costume

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