The international conference, Virtuose di musica in Seventeenth-Century Italy, seeks to investigate the role of women in the musical culture of seventeenth-century Italy, with particular attention to women musicians active as singers, composers, instrumentalists, and music teachers. The chronological framework spans from the late sixteenth century – marked by the emergence of the recitative style and a corresponding new model of the
virtuosa—to the early years of the eighteenth century.
While the seventeenth century saw the professionalization of women musicians across a range of contexts – from aristocratic courts to public theatres – numerous questions remain concerning their musical education; strategies of self-promotion; roles in the creation, dissemination, and performance of repertories; and the kinship and professional networks that supported their artistic endeavors and careers. The collection, cataloguing, and
scholarly analysis of previously unexamined sources (musical, literary, archival, and visual) conducted within the framework of the Vidimus project has brought to light a phenomenon of considerable scope.
Alongside those virtuose who, despite benefiting from the patronage of a court, built their careers primarily within the entrepreneurial opera networks, the research has highlighted the profiles of many women who, far removed from the world of prime donne, public theatres, and chronicles, spent much of their lives in the service of aristocratic households. This form of employment not only provided financial stability, it also ostensibly provided a woman with a reputation as a zitella or donna onesta.
Equally noteworthy is the case of musicians who engaged in multiple artistic practices, thereby expanding their access to diverse cultural and social spheres. Figures such as Giovanna Garzoni, Arcangiola Paladini, and Margherita Costa, to name but a few, exemplify the intersections between music and other arts, inviting reflection on the connections between these domains and the social practices through which women artists shaped their
careers.
Building on the outcomes of the Vidimus project (PRIN 2020, http://www.vidimus.it), this conference seeks to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and critical reflection on these themes. Suggested (though not exclusive) areas of inquiry include:
• Education and training: duration, methods, and costs of instruction; teachers of virtuose di musica; practices of vocal and instrumental pedagogy
• Careers and professional networks: relationships with patrons, aristocratic families, composers, and fellow musicians
• Repertoire: music studied by the virtuose and music composed or intended for their performance
• Representations of the virtuose di musica in iconographic and literary sources
• Women painters who were also musicians
• Actresses who were also musicians
• Between court and convent: virtuose who taught or practiced music within monastic institutions
• Performance spaces and contexts: theatres, courts, convents, aristocratic residences
Keynote speakers:
Beth Glixon (University of Kentucky)
Robert Kendrick (University of Chicago)
Paper proposals, in either Italian or English, should be submitted by 20 September
2025 to info@vidimus.it. Submissions (in both .doc and .pdf format) must include:
• An abstract of no more than 350 words
• A short biographical statement (max. 150 words)
• Institutional affiliation (if applicable)
• E-mail address
Proposals will be reviewed by the scientific committee, and notifications of acceptance will be sent by 10 November 2025.
The conference will take place in person. Presentations should not exceed 25 minutes in duration.
There is no registration fee.
A peer-reviewed publication of selected papers is planned.
Scientific Commettee: Antonella D’Ovidio (Università di Firenze); Arnaldo Morelli
(Università dell’Aquila); Nicola Badolato (Università di Bologna); Teresa Maria Gialdroni
(Università di Roma Tor Vergata).