Galop - Amilcare Ponchielli

La Gioconda, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito, is the most successful theatrical work by Amilcare Ponchielli (1844-1886). In this work there are two dance pieces: the Furlana at the conclusion of the 1st act and the Danza delle ore in the 3rd act. The Dance of the Hours has a precise choreographic outline: it is a masked ball which includes the "hours" of dawn, day, evening and night successively, and ends with a wild finale of galop. The latter is a sort of fast polka, in binary rhythm and unbridled pace. A French variant of it is the can-can. The finale in galop time of the Dance of the Hours recalls certain playful dances by the composer Jacques Offenbach, such as the famous Can-can that concludes the overture of the operetta Orphe au enfers.