Ballet de la nuit

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Ballet de la Nuit, score

The Ballet de la nuit is a courtly ballet spectacle in four parts. It premiered on February 23, 1653 in the Salle du Petit Bourbon in Paris. Further performances took place between February 25 and March 16, 1653. The music was composed by Louis de Mollier and Michel Mazuel . Jean-Baptiste Lully may also have been involved. Isaac de Benserade wrote the libretto . The sets were designed by Giacomo Torelli , and the costumes were in all likelihood by Henri Gissey . It is not known who worked as a choreographer and director.

content

The fundamental theme of the Ballets de la nuit is the interplay between night and sunlight. With the night darkness, confusion and danger break in. Only the rising sun will restore order and harmony. Numerous allegorical figures appear in all four parts.

First part: night falls and displaces the sun. Their darkness affects flora, fauna and people. Beggars and cripples appear alongside citizens, traders, shepherds, girls and soldiers. Thieves and bandits are also present. There are all sorts of thefts and fights.

Second part: the three fates , the allegory of sadness and the allegory of old age accompany the confusion and dangers of the night. But Venus descends from heaven and interrupts the action. She is dedicated to play, laughter, virginity and the ancient god Komos : the god of festivities and exuberance. At the same time, a ball is being prepared in a large ballroom. Dance and entertainment begin. A ballet called “The Thetis Wedding ” is also performed.

Third part: the moon and stars appear. The ancient astrologers Ptolemy and Zarathustra observe the stars, some peasants are frightened by the phenomena of the night. Six corybants offer drum rhythms and dance before witches, demons, wizards and werewolves populate the scene: an excessive witch's sabbath unfolds. Three curious people want to approach, but suddenly the eerie scene disappears.

Fourth part: The elements fire, water, air and earth show up. Depending on the human temperament - choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic or sanguine - they stimulate different dreams. Finally, blacksmiths greet the morning. Aurora , the dawn, heralds the sunrise. The sun appears, the new day dawns.

Roles and dancers

The Ballet de la nuit cannot be compared with today's theater performances and the classic counterpart of spectators and professional dancers. It was performed as a ballet de cour as part of the courtly festival culture . All roles were taken over by members of the French high nobility. King Louis XIV also interpreted several parts. He was seen as an allegory of the game (as a partner of Venus in the second part), as a curious observer of the Witches' Sabbath in the third part and in the dream scenes of the fourth part. Above all, however, he embodied the important role of the sun. His nickname “Sun King” goes back to his appearance in the Ballet de la nuit .

All roles were danced by men. Female figures like Venus or Aurora became roles “ en travestie ”. It is true that a few women appeared in court ballet as early as the 1950s. But it was only in the coming decades that dancers were able to assert themselves increasingly. The professionalization of dance and the increasing virtuosity of dance only began a few years after the performances of the Ballet de la nuit . Louis XIV and all other aristocratic amateur dancers received adequate instruction. The specialists François Galland du Désert and Jean Renaud, among others, worked as dance masters for the royal family. But it wasn't until March 1661 that a state-sponsored training institute was set up. At that time, Louis XIV opened the Académie royale de danse (today: Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris ). In the period that followed, more and more choreographic rules emerged: the ballet technique became more demanding, courtly amateur dancers were replaced by professionally trained dancers.

Dance technique and cultural-historical context

Louis XIV as "Sun" in the Ballet de la nuit

In the middle of the 17th century, neither artistically choreographed movements nor natural, authentic dancers' bodies were the focus of interest. Rather, the Ballet de la nuit developed as a total work of art made up of music, stage effects, elaborate decorations and opulent costumes. As a dancer of the sun, Louis XIV wore high heels, a heavy robe with gold trimmings and a wig with a halo and high feathers. In such costumes no virtuoso step sequences, pirouettes or even jumps were possible. Dancers were pushed onto the stage by lifting platforms and other machinery. Furthermore, their positioning in space was based on geometric patterns: They were arranged in precise straight lines, diagonals, triangles, squares or circles. If Louis XIV was involved in the choreography, dances and group formations served to present the king at the center of the action.

The ballet de la nuit , like other ballets de cour, had political dimensions. Louis XIV based his later reign on a sophisticated propaganda concept. Among other things, through paintings, sculptures, literary texts and theater performances, he was staged as a brilliant and infallible ruler. He demonstrated his absolutist greatness throughout Europe, but also secured his power domestically. Louis XIV impressed his subjects and assigned the courtiers and members of the nobility to their appropriate position in the courtly cosmos. He himself was in the center, all others positioned themselves in relation to and depending on his person. The Ballet de la nuit already became a prime example of such an image production. Not only the interplay between Louis XIV and his fellow dancers, but also the content and dramaturgy aimed at praising the king.

Political context

The ruler's iconography exhibited in the Ballet de la nuit encompassed characteristics such as superiority, authority, security, and splendor. The ballet thus referred to the domestic political events of the recent past. At the beginning of 1653 the royal troops had crushed the Fronde , the uprisings of the French high nobility against the central authority of the crown that began in 1648. The royal family fled into exile in Saint Germain during the Fronde uprisings , and the young Louis XIV was confronted with the impending loss of his power. Thus the Ballet de la nuit developed as a symbol of victorious royalty:

“Ludwig's appearance serves the reassurance of his own rule and becomes a self-confident declaration of war against subversives of all stripes. His rightful royal dignity is clearly displayed in the parables of darkness and sunlight. With the death of Louis XIII. Night has fallen and the Fronde riots have fueled conflicts and insecurities. Only Louis XIV promised France a glorious future. With its appearance (...) shine and order go hand in hand. "

The person of Louis XIV was always recognizable for the audience of the ballet. The figure of the sun stepped back behind the dancing king: "In this case it is more important that the king dances than that a certain figure of the drama is seen on the stage." In this context, symbolized the triumph of the sun over the night the solemn return of the king, his family and his ministers to Paris. The sun also stood for peace and prosperity: in the king, harmony, sovereignty and benevolent care for the people came together. This closed the circle to the essential goals and tasks of the propaganda machine that was emerging around Louis XIV.

literature

  • Rudolf Braun , David Gugerli : The dancing king . In: dies .: power of dance - dance of the mighty . Beck, Munich 1993, pp. 96-165, ISBN 3-406-37550-2 .
  • Peter Burke : Ludwig XIV. The productions of the sun king . Wagenbach, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-8031-2412-3 .
  • Mark Franko: Dance as Text. Ideologies of the Baroque Body . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1993, ISBN 978-0-521-43392-1 .
  • Brigitte Garski: Courtly and theatrical dances at the court of Louis XIV. The aristocratic style . In: Marx, Hans Joachim (Hrsg.): Contributions to the music of the baroque. Dance - opera - oratorio . Report on the symposia of the international Handel Academy Karlsruhe 1994 to 1997. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 1998, pp. 43–54, ISBN 3-89007-387-5 .
  • Claudia Jeschke: Body concepts of the Baroque - staging of the body through the body . In: Dahms, Sibylle / Schroedter, Stephanie (ed.): Dance and movement in the baroque opera . Studien-Verlag, Innsbruck / Vienna 1996, pp. 85-105, ISBN 3-7065-1154-1 .
  • Doris Kolesch: Theater of Emotions. Aesthetics and politics in the time of Louis XIV . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 978-3-593-38221-0 .
  • Klaus Malettke : The Bourbons . Volume I: From Heinrich IV. To Louis XIV. 1589–1715 . Kohlhammer-Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-020581-9 .
  • Maureen Needham: Louis XIV and the Académie Royale de Danse, 1661 - A Commentary and Translation . In: Dance Chronicle. Studies in Dance and the Related Art s. 20th volume, number 2/1997, pp. 173–190.
  • Marina Nordera: Ballet de cour . In: Kant, Marion (Ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Ballet . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, pp. 19-31, ISBN 978-0-521-53986-9 .
  • Julia Perst: Theater under Louis XIV. Cross-Casting and the Performance of Gender in Drama, Ballet and Opera . Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2006, ISBN 978-1-403-97518-8 .
  • Chris Roebuck: "Queering" the King: A Remedial Approach to Reading Masculinity in Dance . In: Carter, Alexandra (Ed.): Rethinking Dance History. A reader . Routledge, London / New York 2004, pp. 46-58, ISBN 978-0-415-28746-3 .
  • Uwe Schultz : The ruler of Versailles. Louis XIV and his time . Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-406-54989-2 .
  • Hendrik Schulze: French dance and dance music in Europe at the time of Louis XIV. Identity, cosmology and ritual . Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim / Zurich / New York 2012, ISBN 978-3-487-14793-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Ballet Royale de la Nuit : http://operabaroque.fr/CAMBEFORT_NUIT.htm .
  2. ↑ See Ballet Royale de la Nuit : http://operabaroque.fr/CAMBEFORT_NUIT.htm ; Hendrik Schulze: French dance and dance music in Europe at the time of Louis XIV. Identity, cosmology and ritual . 2012, p. 98ff.
  3. ↑ Cf. Julia Perst: T heatre under Louis XIV. Cross-Casting and the Performance of Gender in Drama, Ballet and Opera. 2006.
  4. ↑ Cf. Mark Franko: Dance as Text. Ideologies of the Baroque Body . 1993, p. 109ff; Sandra Meinzenbach: The King Dances: Choreographies of Power at the Court of Ludwig XIV.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.textarbeit-sprachkonzept.de   ; Maureen Needham: Louis XIV and the Académie Royale de Danse, 1661 - A Commentary and Translation . In: Dance Chronicle. Studies in Dance and the Related Arts . 20th year, number 2/1997.
  5. ↑ Cf. Mark Franko: Dance as Text. Ideologies of the Baroque Body . 1993, p. 15ff; Chris Roebuck: "Queering" the King: A Remedial Approach to Reading Masculinity in Dance . In: Alexandra Carter (Ed.): R ethinking Dance History. A reader . 2004, p. 51; Hendrik Schulze: French dance and dance music in Europe at the time of Louis XIV. Identity, cosmology and ritual . 2012, p. 113f, p. 141f, p. 153f.
  6. ↑ Cf. Peter Burke: Ludwig XIV. The Staging of the Sun King . 2001.
  7. ↑ Cf. Klaus Malettke: The Bourbons. Volume I: From Heinrich IV. To Louis XIV. 1589-1715 . 2008, pp. 141ff; Uwe Schultz: The ruler of Versailles. Louis XIV and his time . 2006, p. 20ff.
  8. ↑ Sandra Meinzenbach: The King Dances: Choreographies of Power at the Court of Ludwig XIV.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.textarbeit-sprachkonzept.de  
  9. ^ Hendrik Schulze: French dance and dance music in Europe at the time of Louis XIV. Identity, cosmology and ritual . 2012, p. 120.