Divertissement

The divertissement arose in the late 17th century within the culture of Louis XIV’s court, growing from the traditions of the ballet de cour and court spectacles. Jean-Baptiste Lully, working with playwrights such as Molière and choreographer Pierre Beauchamp, fixed its conventions in comédie-ballets and especially in tragédie en musique, where each act commonly concluded with an elaborate divertissement of dances and choruses.

Under Lully and his successors, the divertissement became a hallmark of French stage aesthetics: large choruses, bright orchestration, and suites of court dances showcasing disciplined ensemble dancing and elaborate stagecraft. Composers such as Rameau, Campra, Charpentier, and Marais expanded the palette—enriching harmony, orchestral color, and choreographic diversity. In opéra-ballet (e.g., Campra’s and Rameau’s works), entire entrées often functioned as extended divertissements with loosely connected plots.

Through the 18th and 19th centuries, the divertissement tradition helped cement the expectation of ballet and choral spectacle in French opera and later grand opera, where full-scale ballet episodes became standard. In the ballet world, the notion survives as a display section (a "divertissement")—a sequence of dances or a grand pas that suspends narrative for virtuosity and pageantry. Its legacy also echoes in later popular stage forms that prize variety and spectacle.