The Dark Side of Venetian Opera: Demonological Undercurrents in Seventeenth-Century Librettos
Term
48 months (start: 06/2025)
Funding & Financing
Austrian Science Fund (FWF); funding amount: €452.123,66
People and institutions involved
Project management: Dr Sara Elisa Stangalino
Project content
Seventeenth-century Venetian opera was not only a venue for musical innovation, but also a mirror of social, political and ideological debates. While opera flourished in Venice as a commercial entertainment medium and reached a wide audience, its libretti often drew on the literary, philosophical and religious discourses of their time. This research project is the first to systematically investigate the connection between poetic opera texts and contemporary demonological literature, in particular inquisitorial writings dealing with witchcraft, magic and demonic beliefs.
A central element of the study is Jean Bodin’s Démonomanie des sorciers (1580), an important work on demonology and witch hunts, which was published in Italian translation in Venice and continued to circulate despite a papal ban. The research explores the extent to which this and similar works influenced the composition of opera libretti. Through the analysis of more than 400 surviving Venetian libretti, dramaturgical patterns are identified that show striking parallels to the ideas and narrative structures of inquisitorial literature. Particular focus is placed on recurring motifs such as the summoning of spirits, magical and divinatory rituals, and demonic seduction, which functioned in opera not only as elements of entertainment, but also as a reflection of contemporary social debates.
A central aspect of the project is the investigation of the role of these issues in the specific context of Venetian society. Unlike many other parts of Europe, where the Inquisition played a dominant role in witch trials and religious persecution, Venice maintained a largely independent stance, limiting the influence of the Church and allowing greater intellectual and artistic freedom. This unique environment enabled librettists and composers to address and reflect on such themes in a controlled, artistic form.
The research project contributes to developing a deeper understanding of the interaction between opera and society. It shows how popular musical dramas not only reflected contemporary fears and beliefs, but also actively contributed to the dissemination and transformation of cultural ideas. The results of this study are significant not only for musicology, but also for cultural history, literary studies and the history of religion. Furthermore, they offer new perspectives for the interpretation and staging of historical operas by revealing their deeper symbolic and ideological levels.
Image: L’Armida nemica, amante e sposa (Venezia, Francesco Salerni e Giovanni Cagnolini, 1669) I-Bc, Lo05907_047