Then came a
dance of fools, got up as Punches, beating one another with pigs'
bladders, with more of the same kind. At the Court of Ferrara they
never gave a comedy without 'its' ballet (Moresca). In what style the
'Amphitruo' of Plautus was there represented (1491) at the first
marriage of Alfonso with Anna Sforza), is doubtful. Possibly it was
given rather as a pantomime with music than as a drama. In any case,
the accessories were more considerable than the play itself. There was
a choral dance of ivy-clad youths, moving in intricate figures, done to
the music of a ringing orchestra; then came Apollo, striking the lyre
with the plectrum, and singing an ode to the praise of the House of
Este; then followed, as an interlude within an interlude, a kind of
rustic farce, after which the stage was again occupied by classical
mythology--Venus, Bacchus and their followers--and by a pantomime
representing the judgement of Paris.
Not till then was the second half of the fable of Amphitruo performed,
with unmistakable references to the future birth of a Hercules of the
House of Este. At a former representation of the same piece in the
courtyard of the palace (1487), 'a paradise with stars and other
wheels,' was constantly burning, by which is probably meant an
illumination with fireworks, that, no doubt, absorbed most of the
attention of the spectators.
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