Margherita Costa, Diva of the Baroque Court

During the mid-seventeenth century, Italian singer, courtesan, and writer Margherita Costa rose to prominence and fame across the courts of Italy and France. She gained a steady stream of elite patrons, including popes, queens, grand dukes, and influential cardinals, and male poets and librettists wrote celebratory poetry on her behalf. Costa published fourteen full-length texts across various genres, including burlesque comedy, drama, equestrian ballet, pastoral opera, amorous letters, lyric poetry, and history. Jessica Goethals' book explores Costa's life, travels, and literary experiments, highlighting her willingness to challenge the boundaries of decorum that defined what women should and did write about. It also provides a portrait of seventeenth-century courts, their concerns, and their entertainments.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 11 October 2023
Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Margherita Costa, a renowned Roman singer, courtesan, and writer, achieved immense prominence and fame across the courts of Italy and France during the mid-seventeenth century. She secured a steady stream of elite patrons, including popes, queens, grand dukes, and influential cardinals, while male poets and librettists crafted celebratory poetry in her honor. In addition to her captivating performances as a soprano on the opera stage, Costa published an impressive fourteen full-length texts spanning various genres, including burlesque comedy, drama, equestrian ballet, pastoral opera, amorous letters, lyric poetry, and history. Margherita Costa, Diva of the Baroque Court, delves into close textual readings of Costa's extensive publications, complemented by archival materials that provide insights into her performance itinerary and social-cultural networks. The book unfolds chronologically through her life, geographically along the routes she traversed, and thematically through the genres in which she experimented. Jessica Goethals sheds light on Costa's audaciousness in transcending the boundaries of decorum that dictated what women should and did write about. This book extends beyond a mere literary biography, serving as a captivating portrait of seventeenth-century courts, their concerns, and their entertainment.

Weight: 600g
Dimension: 229 x 155 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781487547301