MACAO’S TWO OPERA SEASONS IN 1833 AND 1865 : A STUDY OF TRAVELLING MUSICIANS AND MARITIME CONNECTIONS IN THE 19TH─CENTURY WORLD澳門1833年及1865年的兩個歌劇節：19世紀旅行音樂家和海路交往研究
The article analyzes two opera seasons in Macao—in 1833 and in 1865—to explain how the archipelago became integrated, by maritime routes, into a global musical culture of the nineteenth century. The author argues that, far from constituting isolated episodes, the performances by itinerant Italian co...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
2013
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40042/2889 |
| Summary: | The article analyzes two opera seasons in Macao—in 1833 and in 1865—to explain how the archipelago became integrated, by maritime routes, into a global musical culture of the nineteenth century. The author argues that, far from constituting isolated episodes, the performances by itinerant Italian companies fit within a transcontinental circulation of operatic repertoires, artists, and tastes driven by oceanic routes and by networks of cultural mediation. Methodologically, the study combines critical reading of contemporary sources, including local press records and residents' diaries, with historical-musical framing on the "globalization" of opera—marked by the expansion of the so-called "Rossini universe" and, more broadly, by the hegemonic weight of Italian production. In comparing the two dates, the author identifies continuities and transformations in the way the Italian repertoire was selected, disseminated, and received in Macao: in 1833, a touring South American company—described locally as operatic "circumnavigators"—staged an expressive series of operas, while in 1865 the presence of a new dynamic of circulation confirms the persistence of Atlantic-Asian maritime connections. It is concluded that the opera seasons functioned as articulation points between Macao and the musical circuits of the nineteenth-century world, revealing the role of maritime routes in the construction of a transregional performative culture. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |