Women and Music in the Early Modern Age Palácio Nacional de Queluz, 2–4 July 2021

Abstract

Taking the career of Violante Vestri (c1725–1791) as an example, and illustrating with the famous engraving dedicated to her in 1750 by Marc'Antonio Dal Re, Alessandra Mignati (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan;Università di Napoli Federico II) proposed some thoughts on the history of female performers, the audience's expectations, the importance of seduction in theatre and the significance of the support from prestigious personalities. Artistic rivalry was approached by Benoît Dratwicki (Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles) in a paper dedicated to the quarrels of singers at the Académie royale de musique in the eighteenth century, which examined the public and private issues involved and their media misappropriation. A number of these women came from families of professional musicians, while others were seasoned prima donnas;a small handful were local adolescents selected to receive musical training. Dance was also the subject of a single paper: ‘From Feuilleton to Gender Studies: Marie Sallé under the Eyes of Critics’, by Silvia Garzarella (independent scholar, Milan).