Ponchielli: Dance of the Hours

You may not be familiar with the name Amilcare Ponchielli (31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886). Even if you are an opera fan, you may only be familiar with his most famous work – La Gioconda. This was adapted from a play by Victor Hugo by the librettist Arrigo Boito (Mefistofele).

It was thought, back in the day, that operas needed to have a ballet and the ballet (“Dance of the Hours” – morning, day, evening) came at the end of the third act of La Gioconda. It’s probably the best known piece of the opera. The first video is the ballet in all its 9+-minute glory.

Ah, but it doesn’t end there. In 1940 Walt Disney used it in the famous animated film Fantasia, replete with dancing ostriches, hippos, elephants, and alligators. Spike Jones used part of it in 1949 for the backdrop of Doodles Weaver “calling” the Indianapolis 500. And best of all Allen Sherman wrote the parody “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah.” Videos two and three are Spike Jones and Allen Sherman, respectively. 

Whether it’s Disney or Bugs Bunny or a variety of other singers and songwriters, classical music has provided interpreters with beautiful ballads and hilarious humor and introduced people to the great composers who came up with the tunes. We can appreciate all the different forms that the music takes.