Singing of Arms and Men: Florence and the Balletto a Cavallo in the Seventeenth Century

Equestrian ballets ( balletti a cavallo ), although little known today, emerged as valued dramatic entertainments in early modern Europe, capable of demonstrating the wealth and magnificence of the patrons who commissioned them as well as the horsemanship and military skills of the noblemen who rode in them. Although the horse ballet did not originate in Florence, that city--and its ruling grand dukes, the Medici--acquired a reputation for excellence in the genre. Between 1608 and 1686, the court commissioned horse ballets to commemorate important state events such as Medici weddings or visits by foreign visitors. In Singing of Arms and Men , author Kelley Harness undertakes the first comprehensive study of the seventeenth-century Florentine horse ballets. She demonstrates how these works communicated messages relevant to the occasions for which they were performed, delivered by means of texts sung in styles similar to contemporary opera and punctuated by choreography and dramatic structure. Mock battles fought with swords and pistols animated audiences but also provided visible instances of conflict, which were then interrupted by the sudden arrival of a deus ex machina , who commanded the combatants to instead join forces to defeat a common enemy. The knights then demonstrated newfound cooperation through their creation of choreographed figures danced on horseback in time to music. Documentary evidence confirms that the Medici family expended significant financial and human resources on these one-time events, revealing just how much work it took to appear effortless. Ultimately, Harness shows how the balletto a cavallo played a crucial role in Medici self-fashioning during the period, and that the 250 noblemen invited to lend their equestrian skills both confirmed their family's relationship to the Medici and were provided a venue for demonstrating critical markers of masculine nobility. Cover 1 Singing of Arms and Men 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Abbreviations and Library Sigla 10 Notes on Sources 12 Introduction 14 1. Ardens evexit ad aethera virtus: The Beginnings of the Balletto a cavallo in Florence 30 2. Musical and Dramatic Conventions in the Florentine Horse Ballets 73 3. Florentine Horse Ballets and Renaissance Chivalric Poetry, 1616–​1652 121 4. Applied Ariosto: Riders in the Florentine Horse Ballets 160 5. Displacing Chivalry with Mythology: Hercules and the Horse Ballets of 1652 and 1661 188 6. Laboring for Hercules: The Cost of Conspicuous Consumption 229 7. Hercules at a Crossroads: The Final Medici Horse Ballets, 1671–​1686 279 Appendix I Alphabetical list of all riders in the Florentine horse ballets, 1608–​1686, along with years of participation and role/​squad 306 Appendix II Payroll of July 2, 1661, with subtotals for each occupation 314 Bibliography 320 Index 338