‘Not always the same minuets’: Dance at the Württemberg Court, 1662–1711

Abstract

In common with many German principalities, the latter decades of the seventeenth century saw the ducal court of Württemberg increasingly emulate French-style music and dance. Reinstituting an earlier tradition abandoned during the Thirty Years’ War, from 1662 until the invasion of French troops in 1688, important occasions in the life of the court were celebrated with major musical-theatrical productions involving ballet. This article outlines what little is known of this activity using extant manuscript records held in the Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart, supplemented by a selection of printed librettos. As well as providing detailed information on such practical matters as the constitution of audiences and the printing and distribution of both tickets and librettos, these sources offer clues as to the changing role of the court dancing master during this period, concluding with an examination of an employment contract dating from 1711.