Paper short abstract:

Portugal perceived as "Tagus shores" and the Tagus as a symbolic limit of the Western world in musical libretti from the 18th century; ocean-related imaginary in musical poetry and it's musical-rhetoric use during the reign of John V.

Paper long abstract:

Baroque libretti for operas, serenatas and cantatas are prodigal in metaphors, allegories and personifications with an 'aquatic' theme, topics and figures gladly and efficiently explored by the composers through the recurrence to a vast array of Musical-Rhetoric figures. The first aim of this paper is to identify some of these varied references to the Portuguese Monarchy under John V as "Tagus Shores" ('Sponde del Tago, 'Rives du Tage') in vocal compositions, not only Portuguese (Almeida) but also Italian (A. Scarlatti) and even French (Charpentier, Morel).

Secondly, we will explore the role of River Tagus as allegorical Western limit of the civilized world, opposed in the same libretti to the rivers Hydaspes and Ganges as its Eastern limits. Relevant examples to explore are to be found in the lyric-dramatic poetry by Antonio Tedeschi - Italian composer and poet active in Lisbon from 1733 to 1770 - such as the metaphoric image of John V's reign spreading from "the Tagus to the Ganges" or the role of Neptune in his libretto to "L'Ippolito" by Almeida, an image of the punishing yet simultaneously regenerating power of the Ocean, controlling the destinies of the Iberian Monarchies. We will also explore the persistent use of poetic images related to the rivers, see, ocean and water-related activities (such as navigation) in the lyric poetry used by composers living in Lisbon (Té y Sagau, Astorga, Almeida, Giorgi) in this period, and the way how they musically explored this rich imaginary through Musical-Rhetorical figures, presenting some simple musical examples.