!!!Ballett

Ballet: While in the Middle Ages dances, pantomimes, plays and music 
were mostly performed by travelling troupes of actors, the modern age 
soon saw increasing specialisation. In France, stage dance - ballet - 
had reached independence ("ballet de cour") by the 16th century 
but remained under the influence of Italian musicians and particularly 
 opera well into the 18th century, though the separation between 
dancers and singers occurred at an early time (pantomimic dance scenes 
such as were customary at the Italian courts of the Renaissance have 
also been reported from the court of Rudolf II). The first ballet 
to be danced in Vienna was performed by the ladies-in-waiting of 
Empress Eleonore, wife of Ferdinand II. A first flowering of the 
court ballet occurred under Emperor  Leopold I, with ballet 
composers such as J. W. Ebner, J. H.  Schmelzer, J. J. 
Hoffer and N. Matteis; the famous horse ballets (the best-known of 
which, "La contesa dell'aria e dell'aqua", was performed on 
the occasion of the first marriage of Leopold I in 1667) emerged 
as a manneristic successor to the knightly tournaments of earlier 
times. Under Maria Theresia and Joseph II French ballet exerted 
considerable influence on Vienna, particularly under the 
ballet-masters A. Philibois, F.  Hilverding, J. G. Noverre and G. 
Angiolini; the latter two as well as C. W.  Gluck and the then 
director of the Court Theatre, G.  Durazzo, jointly 
"invented" the "ballet en action", which was greatly 
influenced by the French style of expressive dance and formed one of 
the foundations of today's ballet tradition.

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The 19th century was the heyday of individual dancers of great repute 
such as Maria and Salvatore Viganò (for whom L. v.  
Beethoven wrote "Die Geschoepfe des Prometheus"), Marie  
Taglioni and Fanny  Elssler; J.  Bayer wrote the music for "Die 
Puppenfee" (première in 1888, choreography by J.  
Hassreiter). The transition from romantic ballet to the freer forms of 
the 20th century was influenced by the G.  Wiesenthal and her sisters 
Elsa and Berta.

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Highlights in Austrian ballet were marked by the choreography of H. 
Kroeller for the ballets "Josephs Legende" (with W.  Fraenzl as 
Joseph) and "Schlagobers" by R.  Strauss (with R.  Raab and others) 
and that of G. Wiesenthal for "Der Taugenichts in Wien". M.  Wallmann, 
who became head of the State Opera Ballet in 1934, introduced an 
approach that was strongly influenced by modern dance. Famous ballet 
personalities who performed in Austria in the 2%%sup nd/%  half of the 
20%%sup th/%  century include E.  Hanka and R.  Nureyev.

!Literature
F. Ruziczka, Das Wiener Opern-Ballett, doctoral thesis, 
Vienna 1948; P. Keuschnig, N. Matteis junior als Ballett-Komponist, 
doctoral thesis, Vienna 1968; A. Oberzaucher (compilation), Wr. 
Staatsopernballett. 1922-1997, 1997.


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