Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx (also Balthasar de Beaujoyeux), originally Baldassare de Belgiojoso (died c. 1587 in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
) was an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
ist, composer, and choreographer.
[Balthasar de Beaujoyeux: Definition from Answers.com]
Retrieved 27 March 2010.[Andros on Ballet - Catherine Medici De]
Retrieved 27 March 2010.
Career
Beaujoyeulx moved to Paris in 1555, where he became a servant at the court of
Catherine de' Medici. He tutored two of her sons and displayed a talent for arranging elaborate entertainments for the court. He participated in the masquerade ''Défense du paradis'' in 1572 and mounted the ''Ballet aux ambassadeurs polonais'' in 1573: one of the first works to be recognized as a true court ballet, staged to honor the Polish ambassadors who were visiting Paris upon the accession of
Henry of Anjou to the throne of Poland.
[
On 24 September 1581 Henry III's favorite the Duke de Joyeuse married Marguerite de Lorraine (1564–1625), daughter of ]Nicolas, Duke of Mercœur
Nicolas of Lorraine, Duke of Mercœur (16 October 1524 – 23 January 1577), was the second son of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine, and Renée de Bourbon.
Biography
He was originally destined for an ecclesiastical career, being made bishop of Metz i ...
and sister of the queen consort Louise of Lorraine
Louise of Lorraine (french: Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont; 30 April 1553 – 29 January 1601) was Queen of France as the wife of King Henry III from their marriage on 15 February 1575 until his death on 2 August 1589. During the first three mon ...
. For the wedding celebrations Queen Louise devised and presented a five-and-a-half-hour dance extravaganza called the ''Ballet Comique de la Reine
The ''Ballet Comique de la Reine'' (at the time spelled ''Balet comique de la Royne'') was an elaborate court spectacle performed on October 15, 1581, during the reign of Henry III of France, in the large hall of the Hôtel de Bourbon, adjacent ...
'' which cost over a million écu
The term ''écu'' () or crown may refer to one of several French coins. The first ''écu'' was a gold coin (the ''écu d'or'') minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. ''Écu'' (from Latin ''scutum'') means shield, and the coin ...
. She organized her own team of writers and musicians: the text was by the Sieur de la Chesnaye (Nicolas Filleul), the music by "Lambert de Beaulieu
Girard de Beaulieu, better known by the incorrectly recorded name Lambert de Beaulieu (? – after 1587) was a French bass singer, instrumentalist, and composer. He was employed at the court of Henri III as basse singer and composer from 1559. He ...
" (in fact Girard de Beaulieu), the sets by Jacques Patin
Jacques Patin (died 28 May 1587) was a French painter, decorator, illustrator and engraver.Benezit 2006, vol. 10, p. 992.
Although the date and place of Patin's birth are unknown, he was part of a family of artists that included his father and br ...
, and Beaujoyeulx, who created the scenario, choreographed, stage managed, and directed.[ Strong, Roy (1984). ''Art and Power: Renaissance Festivals, 1450–1650'', p. 119. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press, 1984. .] Since it incorporated a story line about the legend of the mythological enchantress Circe
Circe (; grc, , ) is an enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and religion. She is either a daughter of the Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse or the goddess Hecate and Aeëtes. Circe was renowned for her vas ...
, it is generally regarded as the first ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
.[ The title page of his published account of the event states that he was employed as ]valet de chambre
''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on t ...
to both the King (Catherine's son, Henry III) and the Queen (queen consort Louise of Lorraine).
See also
* Catherine de' Medici's court festivals
References
External links
Le Balet Comique de la Reine, 1581: An Analysis
by Elizabeth Cooper
* Preston, VK (2015). "How do I Touch this text?: Or, the Interdisciplines Between: Dance and Theatre in Early Modern Archives", pp. 56–89, in George-Graves, Nadine. "The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Theatre." Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaujoyeulx, Balthasar De
Italian classical composers
Italian male classical composers
Ballet choreographers
Renaissance dance
Renaissance music
Renaissance composers
1580s deaths
Year of birth unknown
Italian expatriates in France