The city of the King and the theatres of the Queen: (re)thinking Lisbon and the Royal Opera Theatre

Abstract

Starting from the analysis of the sociocultural impact determined by the arrival in Portugal of the Queen D. Maria Ana of Austria (1708-1754), this essay focuses on the artistic and architectural policies of King D. João V (1707-1750) and of King D. José I until the Lisbon’s earthquake (1755). Thanks to new sources and drawings, the article aims to rethink the critical dichotomies between the Johannine and Josephine reigns, also highlighting the centrality of the cultural action of the Queen D. Maria Ana of Austria. To demonstrate it six crucial issues are focused: 1) The precocious introduction of Italian music, dance and theatre, thanks to the cultural model of the imperial court of Vienna; 2) The strong impact of the Filippo Juvarra’s projects for Lisbon and its connection with the design of a territorial system of royal residences; 3) The change of D. João V’s architectural policy coinciding with the (re)start of the royal construction site in Mafra (1728-1729), and the persistence of the court sociability with theatrical and operatic representations promoted by the Queen in the royal palace of Ribeira until 1742; 4) The continuity between the previous cultural action of the Queen Mother and the artistic-theatrical policy implemented by D. José I between 1750 and 1755; 5) The analysis of three new drawings for the integral reconstruction of the Real Opera designed by Giovan Carlo Sicinio Bibiena and two unpublished descriptions of the royal theater of Salvaterra de Magos; 6) The urban, functional and symbolic reconversion of the access to the Royal Opera in the area of the royal palace of Ribeira in Lisbon.