Ballet at the Opéra: frequency of performance, scene types shared with opera

Résumé 0

Ballets strong presence at the Paris Opéra since the foundation of that institution in the seventeenth century has long been recognized. Yet we still have much to learn about even the most basic features of ballets vital role there. Toward that end, I pose two simple questions. First, how often was ballet performed at the Opéra? The answer: at least 75% (and probably more) of new works performed at the Opéra from 1774-1876 entailed dancing, and more than 95% of performances at the Opéra during the same period included both singing and dancing. Second, what scene types were shared by independent ballet and opera? Here, I restrict my findings to 1830-1848, and focus on four scene types: feminine scenes (the most often-performed of which, the bathing scene in Les Huguenots, was likely inspired by earlier such scenes in ballets and opera-ballets), bail scenes (more often cropping up in ballets and operas after the great success of Gustave III, 1833), insider-view ballet scenes (e.g., backstage scenes featuring ballerinas warming up, rehearsing, or meeting with male admirers), and procession scenes (including processions of soldiers, crusaders, pilgrims, wedding parties, hunters, and so on). Clearly, opera and ballet librettists were influenced by one another.