‘Accounting for the Music’. Institutional logics in the Regio Teatro Carolino of Palermo at the beginning of the nineteenth century

ABSTRACT

We analyse the foundation and organisation of the Regio Teatro Carolino (RTC) in Palermo in the mid-eighteenth century, and its development at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In particular, we examine the accounting system to determine how it was influenced by competing and often conflicting institutional logics. The RTC originated from a private initiative of the Palermo nobility, but soon had to resort to public funding to maintain its artistic performances. Following this process, the Bourbon monarchy implemented control over the RTC and more generally, over all theatrical activities. The research emphasises the different institutional logics that shaped the RTC's management system, highlighting the hybrid characteristics of this institution.

KEYWORDS:

• Theatre
• institutional logics
• accounting
• Palermo
• nineteenth century

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank two anonymous referees for suggestions and, especially, the editor, Cheryl S. McWatters, for her precious advice and continuous support throughout the review process. A previous preliminary version of this paper was presented at the 14th International Research Seminar on Accounting History, Seville, 27th and 28th of June 2019. We thank the participants at the conference for their comments and suggestions. We remain solely responsible for the article and any remaining inaccuracies.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The lieutenant-general of the kingdom of Sicily was a government post established in 1803 by King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon to replace the previous figure of the viceroy. He had executive powers delegated directly by the king (who resided in Naples) and was his representative in Sicily.

2 In 1759 King Philip of Spain's younger grandson became Ferdinand IV and III (1751–1825) of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily respectively. His descendants occupied the joint throne, renamed ‘Kingdom of the Two Sicilies’ in 1816, until 1861.

3 The famous waltz scene of the film by Luchino Visconti, The Leopard (1963), was shot inside their palace.

4 The ounce was the most valuable currency in the Sicilian monetary system. It was divided into 30 tarì, each tarì corresponding to 20 grains.