ABSTRACT
Figure 9.1 Marie Anne de la Trémoille, Princesse des Ursins. Source: Nicolas de Largilliere. Château de Serrant, France. Gianni Dagli Orti/Art Resource, NY.
Dance, masquerades, and theater were always present at the Madrid court, but it was during the reign of Philip IV (1621-1665) that palace theater reached its splendor, thanks to the works of playwrights such as Lope de Vega and Calderón de la Barca and to the stage designs by the Italian designers Baccio del Bianco, Cosme Lotti, and Francesco Antonozzi (Sanz Ayán, “Felipe IV” 278-87; Brown and Elliott 202-30). Such celebrations,
prepared strictly according to the court’s festive calendar, continued during the reign of his successor, Carlos II (1665-1700), despite the economic cri - sis that affected the frequency and magnificence of court festivities (Sanz Ayán, “La fiesta”; Sabik). Upon her arrival in Spain in 1701 after her marriage to Philip V, Marie Louise of Savoy-accompanied by the Princess of Ursins, her new chief lady-in-waiting-encountered a well-consolidated tradition of court performances (Figure 9.1). Nonetheless, the traditional Easter processions, triumphal chariots, and the popular bullfights caused in both women reactions ranging from boredom to open aversion.2 Some - thing similar occurred with Spanish drama, which they never truly appreciated. Certainly, such contempt for Spanish theater was not exclusive to the queen and the princess; indeed, it appears to have been a common senti ment among the members of Philip V’s French entourage in Madrid (Bottineau 250).3
