AND ENTERTAINMENT IN THE COURT Exhibition from 29 November 2016 to 26 March 2017 3 Contents Press release 5 Foreword by Catherine Pégard 7 Foreword by Béatrix Saule 9 The exhibition 13 The exhibition route, an invitation to the party 14 1- Hunting with the King 16 2- The last carousels 18 3- Places of entertainment 20 4- At the theatre 22 5- At the concert 27 6- Promenades 30 7- At the gaming table 32 8- At the ball 34 9- Creating marvellous effects 37 In connection with the exhibition 43 Publications 44 The musical programme 46 Guided tours and school programmes 50 Programmes for special audiences 52 Related products 56 Press contacts The exhibition partners 59 Hélène Dalifard, Patrons 60 Aurélie Gevrey, Elsa Martin, Media partners 66 Violaine Solari +33 (0)1 30 83 75 21
[email protected] presse.chateauversailles.fr Practical information 69 Press release Parties and entertainment in the Court of Versailles Exhibition from 29 November to 26 March 2017 Africa and Crimea rooms ET DIVErTISSEMENTSVErTISSEMENTS À LALA COUrCOUr Exposition du 29 novembre 2016 au 26 mars 2017 Tous les jours, sauf le lundi, de 9h à 17h30 (dernière admission 16h45) Vos billets sur www.chateauversailles.fr As a political monarch, King Louis XIV took “grand entertainment” to the height of magnificence, making Versailles a venue for monumental, extraordinary, and fantastical parties and shows. The king had a shrewd understanding of the human mind and understood that “this society of pleasure, which gives members of the court an honest familiarity with [the sovereign], and touches and charms them more than can be said,” (Louis XIV, Memoirs for the Instruction of the Dauphin, 1661) was necessary for the political framework he had built.