Among the music-theatrical genres in which magic lanterns were used, “mágica” was widely accepted on the Portuguese stages from 1840 to 1910, and this success has branched out to Brazil. These plays had a simple dramatic text, themes related to the wonderful and/or the supernatural, and a burlesque element. They also included visual and sound effects, such as phantasmagoria, dance, and music. Several effects and characters (satanic figures of comic nature) seem to mirror the popularised magic lantern glass slides’ imagery. The magic lantern may also have been a link between the academic and the theatrical universe since, in an impoverished field as the Portuguese theatre, the reuse of materials was common in institutions with very different purposes.

Extensive slide collections are preserved in Portuguese libraries and museums. However, there is a knowledge gap in its production, use and better conservation strategies. Its uses and reuses in the entertainment context, particularly in theatres, still lack investigation.

The MAGICA project will be developed by a multidisciplinary team committed to promoting relevant approaches to the proposed investigation. Valences in areas such as conservation, musicology, theatre studies, and iconography are contemplated, aiming to combine competencies to understand better the role of the magic lantern in 19th-c. academic and cultural life.

More information can be found here.