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"no book has exerted so incalculable an influence for good on the manner and production of ballets and dances"
The foundation of modern ballet: |
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"Noverre’s Letters, considered as an exposition of the theories and laws governing ballet and dance representation, and as a contemporary history of dancing, have no equal in the whole of the literature devoted to the art, and no book has exerted so incalculable an influence for good on the manner and production of ballets and dances. Noverre was not only a most talented choréographe, but also a person possessed of an immense knowledge of his subject, and an unusual store of common sense and intelligence which he applied to the reform of every branch of his profession. The book is contrived in the form of a series of letters, in which he responds to all manner of questions relative to dancing, addressed to him by an imaginary correspondent. Noverre reformed stage costume, restored and developed the art of mime, emphasised the value of good music and decreed that all ballets must possess a good plot; he insisted that a dance must be designed not as a mere divertissement, but as a means of expressing or assisting the development of the theme." -Cyril W. Beaumont |
| NOVERRE, M. (Jean Georges). Lettres sur La Danse, et sur
Les Ballets. A Stutgard, et se vend a Lyon, Cez Aime Delaroche, 1760.
Small octavo, early three-quarter calf over marbled boards. $2800. First edition, first issue (with "Stutgard" imprint) of the seminal work in the creation of the modern conception of ballet. "The French dancer-choreographer-teacher Jean-Georges Noverre (1727–1810) was the first major reformer of ballet. He defined his artistic positions in Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets (Letters on Dancing and Ballets), published in 1760 and continuously reprinted ever since. He worked in Paris, London, Stuttgart, and Vienna, and his influence spread as far as St. Petersburg. He preached the dignity of the ballet and tried to purge it of its excessive artificialities and conventions. He choreographed subjects of mythology and history in highly dramatic narrative forms. He collaborated with some of the major composers of the period, including Mozart, on his ballets... [His] revolutionary treatise, Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets (1760), still valid, brought about major reforms in ballet production, stressing the importance of dramatic motivation, which he called ballet d'action, and decrying overemphasis on technical virtuosity" (Britannica). Some rubbing to handsome early binding, stamp on verso of title, tear to margin of one leaf (not affecting text). An extremely clean and fresh copy of arguably the most influential work in the history of ballet. |