ABSTRACT
On 5 November 1684 in Berlin, the wedding took place between Friedrich, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg and the music-loving Sophie Charlotte, Duchess of Braunschweig-Lüneburg. The celebrations included the ballet La réjouissance des dieux, ballet Orné de Musique, de Machines & de Changemens de Theatre. 1 The French-language preface to the printed libretto speaks of ‘une splendeur et une magnificence incroyable’ (incredible splendour and magnificence), the beauty of the music and ‘la magnificence & la nouveauté des Machines & des Decorations’ (the magnificence and novelty of the machines and decorations). Hardly less splendid were the costumes and the large number of performers. The ballet itself, with music by the berlin court musician Johann Friedrich bodecker, was in the manner of the French Ballet de cour. Vocal music formed an important part of each of the twenty entrées. Like the preface, the language of these was French.
