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The Colour of Opera in 18th-Century Brazil

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Summary:Since the establishment of permanent public theatres in Brazil – known as opera houses from at least 1746 – the presence of Black and biracial artists was predominant. Enslaved individuals also participated in music, performing in orchestras and opera companies, though primarily within private contexts. During the same period, public opera houses employed singer-actors on a permanent basis. These positions were scarce and particularly significant for women, who often lacked financial independence in the Luso-Brazilian world. Many of these artists pursued parallel occupations, including tailoring, seamstressing, lacemaking and, in some cases, prostitution. Although biracial performers were required to conceal their faces with white make-up, they were nonetheless contracted for entire seasons under agreements that afforded a degree of social security, including provisions for illness. Contemporary records also document theatrical artists who succeeded in acquiring considerable wealth, enabling them to own property and, in some cases, enslaved persons. This paper examines the conditions of the first professional actors and actresses employed in eighteenth-century Brazilian opera houses, drawing on archival sources and foreign travellers’ accounts to contextualise their social, ethnic and educational backgrounds within a society profoundly shaped by slavery and racial prejudice.
Main Authors:Brescia, Rosana Marreco
Subject:Opera in Brazil Biracial artists Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Opera houses
Year:2026
Country:Portugal
Document type:article
Access type:open access
Associated institution:Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Language:English
Origin:Repositório Institucional da UNL

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