Page - 135 - in Die Repräsentation der Habsburg-Lothringischen Dynastie in Musik, visuellen Medien und Architektur - 1618–1918

Irena Veselá Venga quel dì felice! Dynastisch-politische Botschaften in musikalischen Huldigungswerken für Karl VI. und Elisabeth Christine (1723)∗ During­ the­ reign­ of­ Emperor­ Charles­ VI­ (1711–1740),­ the­ arts­ (especially­ the­ courtly­ arts)­ were­ an important instrument that underpinned deliberate strategies of the projection of power as subsumed­ here­ under­ the­ term­ ‘representation’.­ This­ becomes­ particularly­ evident­ in­ six­ works­ of­ musical theatre which paid homage to the Prague Coronation in 1723. First performed in Prague, the Costanza e Fortezza festival­ opera­ by­ J.­ J.­ Fux­ underscored­ Charles­ VI’s­ proposal­ of­ his­ Prag- matic Sanction, which provided for his daughter Maria Theresia to succeed to all his territories should­ he­ die­ without­ a­ son.­ Specifically,­ with­ this­ decree­ which­ had­ the­ force­ of­ law,­ he­ wished­ to indivisibly continue his line to the monarchy for all time and to annul claims to the Imperial Crown­ made­ by­ those­ Saxon­ and­ Bavarian­ electors­ who­ were­ married­ to­ the­ daughters­ of­ Joseph­ I.­ After­ it­ had­ publicly­ been­ announced­ in­ Prague­ that­ the­ Empress­ was­ once­ again­ at­ an­ stage­ of pregnancy, the three works (serenate) by G. Porsile (Il Giorno felice), A. Caldara (La Concordia de’Pianeti) and C. A. Badia (Il bel Genio dell’Austria ed il Fato) underpinned hopes for the safe delivery­ of­ an­ heir­ to­ the­ throne.­ The­ focus­ shifts,­ however,­ in­ the­ case­ of­ two­ further­ works­ (by­ A. Caldara, La Contesa de’ Numi and by F. B. Conti, Il Trionfo della Fama). Here, the overarching theme or topos is the universal monarchy and the succession of Charles VI as the heir of Charles V. In all the musical works commissioned to pay homage to the sovereign on State occasions, the ones­ for­ Charles­ VI­ and­ Elisabeth­ Christine­ emphasise­ typical­ idealised­ features­ of­ the­ Habsburg­ code of virtues. These, in turn, formed the basis for a diverse musical transposition in solo arias. Also striking is the increased use of metaphors for light in the libretto. Such metaphors were also emphasised­ through­ the­ medium­ of­ music.­ By­ following­ F.­ W.­ Riedel’s­ theory­ on­ a­ unified­ imperial­ style­ of­ ‘representation’,­ we­ can­ identify­ three­ features­ of­ this­ possible­ ‘imperial­ style’­ in­ the­ ex- amples­ of­ these­ six­ works:­ a­ close­ connection­ between­ libretto­ texts­ and­ musical-rhetorical­ figures­ /­ affects­ /­ idioms,­ a­ strikingly­ contrapuntal­ movement­ for­ these­ genres,­ and­ a­ high­ degree­ of­ vocal­ and­ instrumental­ virtuosity­ (as­ appears­ evident­ in­ the­ works­ of­ D.­ Glüxam). Während der Regierungszeit von Kaiser Karl VI. (1711–1740) stand die Musik- und Kunstpflege am Wiener Kaiserhof in Hochblüte. Besonders im Hoch- und Spätba- rock wurden die Künste zum Instrument der Repräsentationsstrategie des Kaisers, die seine politischen Vorhaben verkünden und widerspiegeln sollten – und zwar mit- hilfe der allegorischen, biblischen und mythologischen Gestalten sowie der spezifisch