Censure, critique et parodie dans le théâtre musical de la première moitié du xviiie siècle

This article deals with the porous boundaries between censorship, critique and parody in musical theatre from the first part of the 18^th century. Dramatic parodies claim their affiliation to moral censorship because they are critical, but they are stopped by censorship as soon as they start dealing with religion, ad hominem attacks or sexuality. In the end, what censors aim at is always the text, but never the music: volatile and immaterial as it is, music is what, to some extent, escapes censorship.