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Bell Ringer – 11/1 m.socrative.com – Room 38178 OR Bell Ringer Card QUESTIONS: 1. “Speak singing” is called _________________. 2. Who is the father of opera? THE INTERNET IS DOWN AT THE MOMENT – everyone needs to do it on a Bell Ringer card and put it in the box Louis XIV We talked about him BRIEFLY yesterday with the development of the opera – he’s an important guy! Louis XIV 1638-1715 “Louis the Great” & “The Sun King” Ruled as King of France from 1643 until his death Reigned for 72 years and 110 days – the longest of a monarch of a major country in European History Died of gangrene 4 days before his 77th birthday Succeeded by this 5-year-old great grandson XV Louis XIV Dancer Performed 80 roles in 40 major ballets Professional ballet dancer Often portrayed roles that were royal or godlike Combined business with art in a mutually beneficial way Dance Dance By the late 16th century, baroque art was consolidated in the court of Louis XIV He was a great patron of painting, sculpture, theater, and architecture and brought ballet into full participation Louis the XIV was an avid dancer himself – he studied for 20 years with the dancing master Pierre Beauchamps Dance – Pierre Beauchamps Pierre Beauchamps invented the 5 basic ballet positions Second First Fourth Third Fifth Dance Louis XIV is nicknamed “The Sun King” At the age of 14th, he danced as Apollo the Sun-God in Le Ballet de la Nuit Louis XIV employed a team of professional artists to produce ballet and opera at court – Moliere (playwright) was a part of these collaborative efforts Dance The plots for French ballet came from classical mythology The style of dancing was fairly simple and controlled Gestures were symmetrical Costumes included elaborate wigs Any movement that threatened to knock one’s wig off would have been impractical and awkward. Dance Ballet became formally institutionalized when LouisXIV founded the Academie Royale de Danse in 1661 Royal Academy of Dance He hired 13 dancing masters to teach there 10 years later, the Royal Academy of Dance merged with the Royal Academy of Music (newly established) Both schools used Louis XIV’s personal theater – a “picture frame stage” Choreography was designed for an audience on one side Dance The establishment of the Royal Academy of Dance led to prescribed rules for positions and movement Women took the stage as professional ballerinas for the first time As the baroque era came to a close in the early 1700s, the foundations of ballet were in place Louis XIV as The Sun King http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYHPNgSUIoE Drama Drama Between 1550 and 1720, France developed a theatrical tradition called “French neoclassicism” In 1548, the Protestants and Catholics outlawed religious drama Secular drama became popular Drama – French Neoclassicism Plays had to conform to 2 specific rules The action of the play had to occur in a single location No change in setting The action could not encompass more than 24 hours The play must take place over the course of one day (the play itself is probably only 1- 2 hours long.) Drama – French Neoclassicism Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) created French masterpieces by breaking the rules In 1635, he wrote the masterpiece Le Cid Tragic comedy about love and war France condemned the play though – other countries loved it! Drama – French Neoclassicism Moliere (1622-1673) wrote French comedies Performed in “tennis-court theaters” Size and shape of indoor tennis courts made them perfect for theater A performance in front of Louis XIV launched his career as a playwright Wrote Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, and the Bourgeois Gentleman (ber-sh-wa) Fast paced action, crisp language, and gentle but effective mockery of humans Challenged background designers Drama – Moliere The Bourgeois Gentleman 5 Act Comedy Ballet Includes dialogue, music and dance, but no singing Choreography done by Pierre Beauchamp Pokes fun at the pretentious middle-class and the vain aristocracy A middle class man wants to climb the ladder and become an aristocrat – takes up fencing, dancing, music, and philosophy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE3n_ZfCqBk&list=PLB672ED271DF0EB5 1