Recitative and modernity in Copenhagen, c. 1724-1842 The idea that sung dialogue (recitative) might be accepted as a meaningful theatrical convention in Copenhagen, was generally a rather controversial one during the 18th and (early-mid) 19th century. The controversial qualities of recitative had much to do with its status and presence within local life as a foreign, imported element. Referring to three moments in the history of this ‘problem’ (1. the comic representations of German opera and recitative in J.L. Holberg’s Kilderejsen (1724); 2. the departure from the opéra comique/Singspiel tradition in Jens Baggesen and F.L.Ae Kunzen’s opera Holger Danske (1789); and 3. the Danish versions (with and without spoken dialogue) of E. Scribe and G. Meyerbeer’s Robert le diable (1831) (in Danish: Robert af Normandiet (1833 and later))), I will consider how the ’foreign’ convention of recitative was construed as problematic in various ways during the period considered here, how it related to different international (Italian/German/French) impulses, or, different processes of cultural transfer, and how these variations and changes over time may be said to reflect more general processes of societal change during the period.