Mark Darlow

Professor Mark Darlow is a leading academic in the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics at the University of Cambridge, specializing in Eighteenth-Century French Literature and Culture. His research bridges theatre, musicology, and cultural history, with a focus on Enlightenment France and Revolutionary periods. He teaches core courses in theory for the Faculty’s MPhil program.

• Current projects include a monograph on the reception of French classical theatre in the Enlightenment and international collaboration with Prof. Rebecca Geoffroy-Schwinden (University of North Texas).
• He supervises PhD research on 18th-century theatre women and Mlle Montansier.
• Darlow’s interdisciplinary work has been supported by AHRC, British Academy, and Owen Taylor Research Fund grants.

His research interests include:

• Eighteenth-Century French Theatre and Music
• Rousseau and Bernardin de Saint-Pierre Studies
• Material Culture and Book History
• Enlightenment and Revolutionary Cultural Politics
• Opéra-comique and Lyric Theatre

Recent publications analyze:

• 1789-1799 Parisian opera reforms
• Chiaroscuro in Enlightenment theatre
• Gluckist-Piccinnist debates
• Mercier’s urban soundscapes
• Diderot’s musical theories
• Post-Thermidor cultural shifts

Scientific awards:

• Philip Leverhulme Prize (2005)
• Runner-up for Gapper Prize (2012)

He serves on editorial boards of Coulisses, Modern Languages Open, and Early-Modern French Studies, and contributes to media outlets like Royal Opera House and Linn Records.