The historical importance of the Ottoman Empire’s presence in Europe is highlighted by its frequent appearance in theatre. The aim of the “Ottoman Empire and European Theatre” research project is to explore, on the one hand, the various performative expressions of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Turkish/Ottoman culture and diplomacy on European theatre stages, and on the other hand, the appearance of European theatre and opera in the Ottoman Empire.
The project consists of different sections:
Research / Edition Projects
- Sefâretnâmes – Ottoman Embassy Reports Edition
- Theatre and Diplomacy
- Joseph Friebert’s Das Serail (‘The Seraglio’, Passavia, 1779)
Databases and Tables
- Database: Stageworks with ‘Turkish’ sujets from 16th to 18th century (“Türkenstücke”, “Türkenopern”).
- Database: Turkish and Oriental Plays in the Pálffy Theatre-Library
- Database: Register of Ottoman and European Ambassadors
- Bibliography of research literature: Turkish and Oriental sujets in Theatre and Opera
International Symposia
- 2008 Vienna (April 25.-26.) and Istanbul (June 05.-06.)
- 2009 Vienna (April 24.-25.) and Istanbul (June 04.-05.)
- 2010 Vienna (April 23.-24.) and Istanbul (May 27.-28.)
- 2011 Vienna (April 29.-30.) and Istanbul (June 09.-10.)
- 2012 Istanbul (June 28.-29.)
- 2013 Istanbul (June 13.-14.)
- 2014 Vienna (June 05.-06.)
- 2015 Istanbul (May 28.-29.)
- 2016 Salzburg (May 19.-21.)
- 2018 Salzburg (October 13.)
Ottomania Publication Series
Michael Hüttler / Hans Ernst Weidinger (eds.): Ottoman Empire and European Theatre. Vol. I: The Age of Mozart and Selim III (1756–1808). Wien: Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag, 2013 (Ottomania 1).
Bent Holm: The Taming of the Turk: Ottomans on the Danish Stage 1596–1896. Translated from the Danish by Gaye Kynoch, Wien: Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag 2014 (Ottomania 2).
Michael Hüttler / Hans Ernst Weidinger (eds.): Ottoman Empire and European Theatre. Vol. II: The Time of Joseph Haydn: From Sultan Mahmud I to Mahmud II (r.1730–1839). Wien: Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag, 2014 (Ottomania 3).
Walter Puchner: Das neugriechische Schattentheater Karagiozis. Wien: Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag, 2014 (Ottomania 4).
Michael Hüttler / Emily M. N. Kugler / Hans Ernst Weidinger (eds.): Ottoman Empire and European Theatre. Vol. III: Images of the Harem in Literature and Theatre. Wien: Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag, 2015 (Ottomania 5).
Michael Hüttler / Hans Ernst Weidinger (eds.): Ottoman Empire and European Theatre. Vol. IV: Seraglios in Theatre, Music and Literature. Wien: Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag, 2016 (Ottomania 6).
Walter Puchner: Ausgewählte Studien zur Theaterwissenschaft Griechenlands und Südosteuropas. Wien: Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag, 2018 (Ottomania 7).
Michael Hüttler / Hans Ernst Weidinger (eds.): Ottoman Empire and European Theatre. Vol. V: Gluck and the Turkish Subject in Ballet and Dance. Wien: Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag, 2019 (Ottomania 8).
Agostino Borromeo, Pierantonio Piatti, Hans Ernst Weidinger (a cura di): Europa Cristiana e Impero Ottomano. Momenti e Problematiche. Wien: Hollitzer Verlag, 2020 (Ottomania 9)
Bent Holm and Mikael Bøgh Rasmussen (eds.): Imagined, Embodied and Actual Turks in Early Modern Europe. Wien: Hollitzer Verlag, 2021 (Ottomania 10).
Reinhard Eisendle, Suna Suner, Hans Ernst Weidinger (eds.): Culture and Diplomacy. Ambassadors as Cultural Actors in Ottoman-European Relations from the 16th to the 19th Century. Wien: Hollitzer Verlag, 2023 (Diplomatica 1 | Ottomania 11).
Marion Linhardt: Stereotyp und Imagination. Das ‚türkische‘ Bühnenkostüm im europäischen Theater vom Barock bis zum frühen Historismus. Wien: Hollitzer Verlag, 2021 (Ottomania 12).
Ayşın Candan: Theatre and Modernity. From the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic. Wien: Hollitzer Verlag, 2024 (Ottomania 13).
Matthias J. Pernerstorfer (ed.): Ein Modell für Mozart. Das Serail von Joseph Friebert (1778). Wien: Hollitzer Verlag, 2024 (Ottomania 14).
Projektleitung: Suna Suner