Vierde bedrijf, derde scène van Robert le Diable 1873 - 1874

This stereo card by Charles Dauvois captures a scene from the opera Robert le Diable using photography, a relatively new medium in the 19th century. Stereo cards like this one were mass produced with photography and printing technologies, and sold to a wide public. Photography allowed for the broad dissemination of images, and offered the possibility of capturing theatrical performances for posterity, to be consumed privately through inexpensive means. In contrast to traditional portraiture, the use of photography in mass production created the opera scene for a wider audience, democratizing and commodifying what had once been an elite activity. The photograph itself is a study in contrasts between the meticulous craftsmanship of the costumes, the rougher labor of set design and backstage labour, and the mechanized process of photography that renders them all equally visible. Consider this an early example of what we now call 'media' – a way of consuming culture that transforms the very thing it represents.