Crowns, Coaches, Curtains: Opera and Dynastic Representation in 19th-century Habsburg Europe

The conference will cover the final years of the Holy Roman Empire through to the concluding decades of the nineteenth century. During those years, coronations, weddings, diplomatic events and travel of the imperial family offered plenty of opportunities to use music and opera to renegotiate the relationship between the imperial center, crownlands and nationalities, and to put the monarchy on an international stage. Opera scholars, historians and art historians will present new research and relate their work to recent historiographical debates on Habsburg Europe. The conference will be opened with a keynote by Alessandra Palidda (Manchester) on Opera and Public Festivities in Napoleonic Milan.