Fabulous Sounds: Depictions of Nocturnal Demonic Apparitions in 18-Century Viennese Music Theater

Witches, ghosts, magicians, devils and other demons appear in many Austrian folk tales, often at night and with characteristic soundscapes: In Der Schwögler von Hall, for example, the devil's appearance is accompanied by an ever-brighter sound; the Vorarlberg Nachtvolk announce themselves drumming, whistling, singing and playing string instruments. Nocturnal demonic apparitions also play important roles in music theater works that premiered on Viennese stages in the 18th century ‒ the most famous example is probably the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Magic Flute. However, the connection between the sonic description of demons in folk tales and their musical representation on stage has not yet been researched. Were there conventions or even universal musical 'vocabularies'? This is the starting point for my PhD dissertation as part of the NightMuse project.

The first step is to search anthologies of Austrian folk tales (for example, the widespread Deutsche Alpensagen by Ritter von Alpburg) for sound events associated with nocturnal demonic apparitions. In the second step, the appearances of corresponding figures in music theater works premiered in Vienna in the 18th century are analyzed with regard to musical parameters. Finally, the consolidation of the two partial analyses should clarify the connection between the sonic description of demons in Austrian folk tales and their representation on stage.

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I have been a member of the NightMuse team as a PhD candidate since 1 September 2024. After my studies (composition, music theory and conducting in Vienna), I worked as a conductor on an international level (e.g. with the Volksoper Vienna and the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra) and taught music theory as a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. From 2016 to 2018, I was a board member of the German Society for Music Theory and have mainly contributed to publications on orchestral and operatic music (Lexikon des Orchesters). In addition, I surveyed intercultural performance practice on research trips to Uzbekistan, Hong Kong and Beijing.

Due to my artistic background, my main research interests include music theater, the perception of music and the development of musicological methods.

Merry Till Dawn: Performativity of Night Life in Early Modern Italy

This project explores the vibrant nightlife of wealthy patricians in early modern Northern Italy, where social and cultural activities flourished after sunset. A whole range of activities related to entertainment and sociability was pursued during the night, from chamber events such as music making and private dinners to large-scale theatre performances, banquets and balls that would last until dawn. All these activities were accompanied and structured by the musical and theatrical elements, and they were highly performative in themselves. In the context of the cultural and social history of the night, these represent a rather positive image associated with nighttime, which traditionally carries negative connotations linked to danger, fear, and even death. They contain pleasurable activities such as eating, dancing, listening to music and watching performances, but they also offer an important occasion for social interaction and representation.

The study focuses on how these nocturnal activities, often overlooked in historical research, were structured, who participated, and how they were connected to power dynamics. Why did certain events take place at night, and which occasions were particularly suited for them? How did they change according to the season of the year? And finally, do they contain elements of subversion, or do they rather confirm existing power structures? The research centers on well-documented events in Ferrara, Venice, Turin, and Milan between 1500 and 1800, primarily examining the elite’s role in shaping night-time entertainment.

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Petra Dotlačilová holds a PhD in Dance Studies from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (2016), and a PhD in Theatre Studies from Stockholm University (2020). In her research, she specialises in European dance history and theatrical costume from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.

She participated in the research projects ‘Performing Premodernity’ at Stockholm University (2014-2019) and ‘Ritual Design for the Ballet Stage (1650–1760)’ at Leipzig University (2015–2017). Together with prof. Hanna Walsdorf she edited Dance Body Costume (2019). In 2021, she was awarded an international postdoc scholarship from the Swedish Research Council to conduct the three-year research project ‘The Fabrication of Performance: Processes and Politics of Costume-Making in the 18th Century’ at the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles. She collaborated on the Swedish Royal Armoury’s exhibition Teaterkungen (2023).

In addition to her research and teaching activities, she is currently the editor of Nordic Theatre Studies Journal and of Dance Context Journal.