ABSTRACT
Theatrical criticism, as basic rubric and genre of the feuilleton, was practiced in Brazil by the first French printers and editors of the periodic press who settled here. Pierre Plancher, a key player in the process of transferring cultural practices of print media from France to Brazil launched in Rio de Janeiro the French journal L'Indépendant (1824-1827), which Émile Sévène continued under the new name of L'Écho de l'Amérique du Sud (1827-1828). In both, the show criticism had guaranteed space. Thus, this article has as its object of study the theatrical criticism of the Écho de l'Amérique du Sud, considering the context of incorporation of the collectivity and cultural diversity of modern urban life, inserted in the process of modernization of the periodic press, which took place throughout the 19th century. The description and examination of theatrical criticism, its methods and procedures of appreciation, approaches and writing strategies make up the focus of the study, as well as the investigation of the evidence of sociability present in the theatrical rubric. Animated by and incorporated by the media culture, sociability exploits the potential of this print media culture in the process of full development and modernization in a cross-national context.
Keywords
Écho de l'Amérique du Sud; French-language press; 19th century; theatre criticism; sociability