San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research Spring 2019 Ballet de la Nuit: Staging the Absolute Monarchy of Louis XIV Sarah Curtis Lysgaard San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Lysgaard, Sarah Curtis, "Ballet de la Nuit: Staging the Absolute Monarchy of Louis XIV" (2019). Master's Theses. 5007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.cyvg-uu2n https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/5007 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BALLET DE LA NUIT: STAGING THE ABSOLUTE MONARCHY OF LOUIS XIV A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Art and Art History San José State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Sarah Lysgaard May 2019 © 2019 Sarah C. Lysgaard ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled BALLET DE LA NUIT: STAGING THE ABSOLUTE MONARCHY OF LOUIS XIV by Sarah C. Lysgaard APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY May 2019 Anne Simonson, PhD. Department of Art & Art History Christy Junkerman, PhD. Department of Art & Art History Jan Thompson, PhD. Department of Art & Art History ABSTRACT BALLET DE LA NUIT: STAGING THE ABSOLUTE MONARCHY OF LOUIS XIV by Sarah C. Lysgaard This thesis researches the ballet de cour spectacles of the seventeenth century French court, with a careful examination of the political and social importance of such spectacles in anticipation of reconstructing Louis XIV’s Ballet de la Nuit (Ballet of the Night), originally performed February 23, 1653 at the Louvre’s Salle de Petit Bourbon. This ballet de cour was a visual spectacle that combined music, dance, poetry, and allegory with elaborate staging and costumes. Such spectacles were first produced in France during the sixteenth century and involved the royal court not only as spectators but also as performers. The Ballet de la Nuit was influential in numerous aspects. This ballet marked for the first time in the history of the ballet de cour, a work presented as a complete and united whole. This meant the libretto was a unified piece, expertly divided into four veilles (watches of the night) and a concluding grand ballet. The entire ballet moved toward a single goal: the rising of the Sun (King). This influential court ballet changed the direction of ballet from a court etiquette requirement to a professional performing art. The reconstruction, The Sun King Dances, performed at San José State University on February 22 and 23, 2018, 365 years after its original performance, showcases the developmental changes from the seventeenth century to the twenty-first, all while allowing the original production to come alive once more. DEDICATION I would like to thank my thesis committee, Dr. Anne Simonson, Dr. Christy Junkerman, and Dr. Jan Thompson of the Art and Art History Department, without whom this thesis project would not have been possible. Their willingness and eagerness to encourage me to expand upon this thesis and create a production made a dream come true. Each of you has inspired me and provided me with an unbelievable amount of guidance. I will always look up to you and am eternally grateful for this opportunity to write this thesis and put on a production. Also a special thanks to the Music Department at San José State University, particularly Dr. Fred Cohen, Dr. Gordon Haramaki, and Lucy Yamakawa Cox, without whom this performance would not have occurred. Their unyielding support and use of their facilities made this vision happen, allowing this spectacle to come to life! Joan Walton of the Dance Department at San José State University also deserves many thanks. Her support from the project’s inception guided me down a path full of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities I never thought possible. Many, many thanks are owed to Catherine Turocy (and everyone who taught at the Santa Barbara Historical Workshop). It was with your kindness, grace, and willingness to extend a hand to a graduate student from a different discipline, that I was able to learn and then pass on the knowledge through this performance and my thesis. The SJSU Costume Shop and my mother, Valerie Curtis, are due for an immense thank you as well. To the Costume Shop, thank you for working with us and with such eagerness! Mom, thank you for those endless hours of sewing, many trips to the fabric v store, and last minute fittings and adjustments. With the participation of all of you, we were able to find the perfect costumes, making this seventeenth century spectacle come back to life. A long overdue thank you is due for John Robert Peck. Your ability to teach and inspire is unbelievable. Your passion for art and life is contagious and meeting you has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. You’re the best mentor anyone could possibly ask for, and I must mention that you’re helping preserve this thesis production with oil paintings of the Selene costume, which I cherish more than you could ever know. Kelly Puma, if there was ever a person who has been by my side through this adventure called graduate school, it is you. You’ve edited every document I’ve ever written, traveled the globe with me, including a research competition where this thesis material was presented. Most of all, you’ve been a huge emotional support. You’ve kept my chin up and helped keep me going strong. Dara Cook, Samantha Geballe, Carmina Eliason, and Daniel Valdez, thank you for your participation in this thesis production. Dara, you’ll forever be my favorite gallery girl, thank you for stepping in and helping me finalize those last details. Samantha, Carmina, and Daniel, it is with your incredible photography and videography documentation that this production lives on. Thank you for capturing these special moments. An enormous thank you is due to Emily Abrams, Jessica Cramer, and Stephanie Harvey for performing in this production. Your eagerness to participate means the world to me, and I cannot put into words how thankful I am that you sacrificed your time to be vi in this production. We’ve developed into the most incredible dance troupe, and I look forward to dancing with you again. Most of all, I’d like to thank Megan Lysgaard. Not only are you my sister and the biggest support I could ever ask for, it was you who originally inspired me to reach for the stars and put on this production. Sticking by my side, with over five years of dedication to this project, it was you who kept me motivated. You knew more than anyone that this is a dream come true for me and I cannot thank you enough for lending me your time and for choreographing the dance pieces for this production. Thank you for being my sister, my Louis XIV, my Apollo, and my day-to-day inspiration. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures……………………………………………………………………… ix Glossary..................................................................................................................... xi Introduction………………………………………………………………………... 1 Chapter 1. The Ballet de la Nuit………………………………………………........ 7 Chapter 2. The Development of Ballet In France From the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century…………………………………………................ 28 Chapter 3. A Political Ballet………………………………………………….......... 51 Chapter 4. The Sun King Dances: How to Successfully Reconstruct a Ballet de Cour………………………………………………………..................... 69 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………. 108 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….. 113 Appendices................................................................................................................ 124 Appendix A: List of entrées and cast in the Ballet de la Nuit (1653).................. 124 Appendix B: The Sun King Dances (2018) Choreography.............................… 129 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Louis XIV as Le Soleil............................................................................. 3 Figure 2 The Hotel de Petit-Bourbon of Paris as depicted on the 1652 map of Gomboust (Plate V)................................................................................. 25 Figure 3. Title Page of The Sun King Dances (dress rehearsal), 2018, San José State University Music Concert Hall....................................................... 70 Figure 4. The Five Positions of the Feet................................................................. 75 Figure 5. Les Heures and La Nuit in Act I in The Sun King Dances (dress rehearsal), 2018, San José State University Music Concert Hall............ 85 Figure 6. Comus and Venus in Act II in The Sun King Dances (dress rehearsal), 2018, San José State University Music Concert Hall.............................. 86 Figure 7. Selene and Endymion in Act III in The Sun King Dances (dress rehearsal), San José State University Music Concert Hall...................... 87 Figure 8. Sleep and Silence in Act IV in The Sun King Dances (dress rehearsal), 2018, San José State University Music Concert Hall.............................. 88 Figure 9. Apollo and Spirits in the Grand Ballet in The Sun King Dances (dress rehearsal), 2018, San José State University Music Concert Hall............ 89 Figure 10. Selene and Endymion staring poses in in Act IV in The Sun King Dances (dress rehearsal),