L’illusion de cette musique me charme pour des moments»: teatro e musica nelle lettere di Maria Carolina alla figlia Maria Teresa

This essay presents some excerpts from the letters sent by Queen Maria Carolina to her daughter Maria Teresa, Empress of Austria, and now kept at the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv in Vienna, with special reference to the comments on music and theatre performances held in Naples. The Queen’s attitude towards theatrical life and practitioners reflects her inner feelings about the tragic events at the time of the Revolution and the first Restoration. Theatre serves as a metaphor, and a mirror to dramatic social changes (and even decadence).