Brazil’s Ópera Nacional (1857-1863) : music, society and the birth of Brazilian opera in nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro

• Main Author: Heller-Lopes, Andre´
• Published: King's College London (University of London) 2010
• Subjects: 981
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.560575

The thesis focuses on the Brazilian Opera National, its history, and the relations between music, culture and society in Rio de Janeiro during the second half of the nineteenth century. As a contribution to Brazilian cultural history, it examines the initiatives that led to the creation of a `Brazilian opera' between 1857 and 1863, and the activities performed by the three institutions that officially represented it: the Imperial Academia de Mzisica & Opera National (1857-1860), Opera Lyrica National (1860- 1862), Opera National & Italiana (1862-1863). Each of these `versions' of the company is discussed in a separate chapter, as a chronological narrative. The Opera Nacional is associated with the forging of the country's national identity, and as such is comparable to the many `national opera schools/movements' that appeared in Europe during the nineteenth century; it enjoyed the collaboration of prominent writers, politicians and intellectuals living in the Brazilian court during that period, and produced Latin America's most important opera composer, Carlos Gomes. However, the subject has not, previously been thoroughly studied, and the thesis represents the first attempt in half a century to establish an accurate academic account of its history in context. The research also unearths much new information, obtained from important newspapers published at the time in Rio de Janeiro: the Didrio do Rio de Janeiro, Correio Mercantil and Jornal do Gommercio. These sources allow one to understand some important aspects of the institution, such as its evolution and ultimate extinction, the development of audiences and repertoire - the peculiar fact that the first national operas were actually Spanish zarzuelas and Italian opera bu r, the artists and the operas in which they performed. Also images, musical scores and 4 the description of operatic plots published in the newspapers, contributed to reconstruction the Opera Yacional's history. Finally, the thesis aims to redefine the significance of the company during the Segundo Reinado, offering a new understanding of its contribution to Brazilian history and to the development of the country's cultural identity,