Editing Paris Opera Ballet (section)

===Founding and early history===
On 28 June 1669, Louis XIV granted a [[Letters patent|privilege]] to the poet [[Pierre Perrin]] giving him a monopoly to form a separate academy for the performance of opera in French. The first production of the company founded by Perrin, the Académie d'Opéra (Academy of Opera),<ref>Also referred to as the Académie Royale des Opéra (Powell 2010, p. 178).</ref> was [[Pomone (opera)|''Pomone'']], which was first performed on 3 March 1671 at the [[Jeu de Paume de la Bouteille]] and included ballets choreographed by Anthoine des Brosses.<ref>Powell 1995, p. 179; Guest 2006, p. 7; Powell 2010, p. 178. It is frequently stated that Beauchamps choreographed the ballets for ''Pomone'' (e.g., Astier 1998a, p. 3). According to Powell, this misunderstanding is based on the 'Recueil de Tralage' (ca. 1697; MS 6544, Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris). A manuscript legal document in the Archives of the Comédie-Française makes clear, however, that Anthoine des Brosses, who had earlier served as dancing master for the [[Théâtre du Marais]], choreographed the ballets for ''Pomone''. Beauchamps only took over des Brosses's position with Perrin's company in the late autumn or early winter of 1671, when des Brosses moved back to the Marais to choreograph [[Jean Donneau de Visé]]'s musical machine-play ''Le Mariage de Bacchus et d'Ariane'' (performed at the Théâtre du Marais in the winter of 1671–1672).</ref>

In 1672, Lully purchased Perrin's privilege and also obtained new letters patent limiting the use of musicians and dancers by other French companies. With Anthoine des Brosses and Lully as choreographers and [[Carlo Vigarani]] as stage designer, Lully's company, now called the Académie Royale de Musique, produced Lully's first opera, ''Les fêtes de l'Amour et de Bacchus'' (a ''pastorale'') in November 1672 at the [[Jeu de Paume de Béquet]].<ref>Powell 2008, pp. 127, 233 note 44; Powell 2010, p. 178; [[Jérôme de La Gorce]], "Lully's first opera. A rediscovered poster for ''Les fêtes de l'Amour et de Bacchus''", ''Early Music'', vol. 15, no. 3, Lully Anniversary Issue (Aug., 1987), pp. 308–314, {{JSTOR|3137552}}. [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k72258r.r=.langEN Libretto, 1672]; [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k109668m/f1.image.r=Les%20festes%20de%20l%27Amour%20et%20Bachus.langFR ms score] from the [[Philidor Collection]], 1705.</ref> This work consisted primarily of excerpts from Lully's prior court ballets connected with new ''[[Entrée (ballet)|entrées]]'' choreographed by des Brosses.<ref name=Powell178>Powell 2010, p. 178.</ref> A crucial difference, however, from the previous court ballets was that the members of the court no longer participated, and all of the dancers were professionals.<ref>Astier 1998a, p. 3. Note however that the ''Gazette d'Amsterdam'' reports that nobles did dance in public at certain performances (cited by La Gorce 2002, pp. 189–190).</ref>

Lully's next production, ''[[Cadmus et Hermione]]'' (27 April 1673), the first ''[[Tragédie en musique|tragédie lyrique]]'' (with a libretto by [[Philippe Quinault]]), also premiered at the Jeu de Paume de Béquet and was choreographed by Anthoine des Brosses.<ref name=Powell178/> Pierre Beauchamps, who had been working with Molière at the Palais-Royal, joined Lully's company in June 1673 (not long after Molière's death), when Lully took over the Palais-Royal theatre, forcing Molière's troupe to move to the [[Théâtre Guénégaud]]. Lully and Quinault continued to collaborate on a series of successful productions, in the process creating a new genre of French opera in which dance interludes played an important part in the musical drama.<ref>Christout 1998, pp. 86–87.</ref> The ballets for these works were created by Beauchamps, des Brosses, and d'Olivet. [[Jean-Baptiste Dubos]] explains that Beauchamps and des Brosses were responsible for the ''ballets ordinaires'', while d'Olivet specialized in ''ballet-pantomime'':

<blockquote>
Lully paid such great attention to the ballets mentioned here that he engaged for their choreography a 'maître de danse particulier' named d'Olivet. It was he, and not des Brosses or Beauchamps, whom Lully engaged for the 'ballets ordinaires', who composed the ballets of the infernal scenes of ''[[Psyché (opera)|Psyché]]'' and ''[[Alceste (Lully)|Alceste]]''. It was also d'Olivet who composed the ballet of the old men in ''[[Thésée (Lully)|Thésée]]'', of the baneful dreams in ''[[Atys (Lully)|Atys]]'', and of the tremblers in ''[[Isis (Lully)|Isis]]''. This last was composed solely of pantomimic gestures by men seized with cold, and he did not introduce a single usual dance step into it.<ref>Quoted and translated by Powell 1995, p. 185, citing ''Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture'', Paris, 1719, p. 357. See [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6544468q/f265.image.r=olivet.langEN p. 247 of the ''Troisième Partie'' of the 1740 edition] at Gallica.</ref>
</blockquote>

Initially the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet were all male. [[De Lafontaine|Mademoiselle de la Fontaine]] (1665–1738) became the first professional [[ballerina]] when she danced in the premiere of Lully's ballet ''Le Triomphe de l'Amour'' on 21 January 1681.<ref>Guest 2006, p. 9; Pitou 1983, pp. 249, 325–326. [http://operabaroque.fr/LULLY_TRIOMPHE.htm ''Le Triomphe de l'Amour''] at operabaroque.fr. [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9062398b/f4.image.r=.langEN Score of ''Le Triomphe de l'Amour''] at Gallica.</ref> Pierre Beauchamps continued to collaborate with Lully at the Paris Opera until Lully's death in 1687.<ref name=Astier396/>