Women, Opera and the Public Stage in Eighteenth-Century Venice Fondazione Levi, Venice, 23–24 May 2022

Abstract

The interdisciplinary research project ‘ Women, Opera and the Public Stage in Eighteenth-Century Venice ’ (WoVen) brings together an international team of researchers dedicated to the question of how women and European opera culture were intertwined in the eighteenth century. The focus is on female singers, librettists and other women involved in performance of the genre, as well as female patrons and audience members. The focus, however, is not only on specific women; the questions are also directed at ‘ women ’ s roles ’ in the operatic context in general. Venice lends itself particularly well to this as a focal point, since the character of European operatic culture can be seen in the Serenissima as if under a burning glass. The theme of the first colloquium was ‘ Concepts, Sources and Methodologies ’ . In her introductory presentation on the project, Melania Bucciarelli (Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige