«Leggiadri spiriti con fest’e giubilo danzate». Spunti di drammaturgia dei balli nell’opera L’Empio punito (Roma 1669) di Alessandro Melani

Abstract

In the second half of the seventeenth century, the Roman opera production presents several outstanding moments such as prologues, intermezzi and balli (dances), highlighting a very significant cultural phenomenon. The theatrical opera L’Empio punito (Rome 1669), adapted from El Burlador de Sevilla – a Spanish comedy by Tirso de Molina – was set to music by Alessandro Melani on a libretto by F. Apolloni and F. Acciaioli. It represents one of the most interesting librettist publications displaying valuable iconographies by Pierre Paul Sevin and complete score. The aim of this research is to provide ideas for the dramaturgy of the dances present in the Roman opera, through comparison of all sources in order to understand the staging of the balli and their social importance in seventeenth-century Rome.