Trasformare la cultura di corte: La regina Maria Anna d’Asburgo e l’introduzione dell’opera italiana in Portogallo

Abstract

The article highlights the role of Queen Maria Anna of Austria (Vienna 1683 – Lisbon 1754) in introducing the taste for Italian opera in Portugal. As Queen of Portugal from 1708, through the letters written by the imperial representative Giuseppe Zignoni, it is possible to reconstruct the process of confluence between two different musical traditions (the Portuguese, based on Spanish tradition, and the Austrian, based on Italian music and opera), and the renovation of Portuguese court culture and society. From the time of the arrival of the Austrian Archduchess, court life, music and dance were extensively renewed at the royal palace of the Ribeira in Lisbon. The Queen’s court, composed of Portuguese and German-Austrian Ladies, was the hub of the transformation from Spanish theatre to Italian opera. The article proposes a new chronology of the performance of music, opera and dance during the first half of the eighteenth century in Portugal, and it rethinks socio-cultural dynamics in the light of the artistic taste and policy of the queen.