“Dance of the Hours” is a short ballet inside an opera. Amilcare Ponchielli wrote it in Italy in 1876. The dancers stand for the hours of the day, from dawn to night. It lasts about nine minutes, and its most famous tune comes near the middle.
Quick facts
- Composer: Amilcare Ponchielli, who lived from 1834 to 1886
- From: the opera La Gioconda
- First staged: Milan, 1876
- Length: about 9 minutes
- Played by: an orchestra
- Shows: dawn, day, evening, and night
A ballet in the middle of an opera
La Gioconda is a serious opera set in Venice. In the third act, a nobleman gives a grand party. To entertain his guests, he puts on a ballet. That ballet is “Dance of the Hours.”
Many operas of the 1800s had a ballet in the middle. Audiences expected one. Read opera for kids.
Ponchielli taught at the music school in Milan. One of his students was Puccini.
The four times of day
Groups of dancers come on in turn, each dressed for one part of the day.
| Part | What the music does |
|---|---|
| Dawn | A soft, light opening. High notes twinkle, and the day wakes up |
| Day | The famous tune: dainty steps in the strings and woodwinds, with little pauses |
| Evening | The music turns slower and warmer |
| Night | Darker and lower sounds |
| The finale | All the hours dance together in a fast, loud gallop |
What to listen for
The tiptoe tune. The famous melody is made of short notes with tiny rests between them. It sounds as if someone is walking on tiptoe.
The harp and the bells. Listen for a harp and a soft bell sound near the start.
The cellos. In the slower part, the cellos sing a long, smooth tune.
The race to the end. The finale is a galop, a fast dance in two beats. Read the Can-can by Offenbach, which is a galop too.
Where you may have heard it
A famous cartoon film from 1940 set this music to a ballet for ostriches, hippos, elephants, and alligators. Read the Fantasia music list.
In 1963, a comic song about a boy writing home from summer camp borrowed the famous tune. Many grandparents know the tune from that song.
Things to do together
Draw the day. Fold a page in four. Draw dawn, day, evening, and night while the music plays.
Tiptoe. Tiptoe to the famous tune, and freeze in the little pauses.
Which hour? Stop the music at any point. Ask your child which time of day it is.
Dance the finale. Gallop around the room for the last minute.
Questions to ask
- How does the composer make morning sound different from night?
- Which part would suit a ballet for animals, and why?
- Where does the music get faster?
Words to know
- Ballet: a story or a scene told in dance
- Galop: a fast dance in two beats
- Finale: the last part of a piece
Print and play
Print a listening journal page. For more music about time, read classical music about clocks and time for kids. For another piece that paints the morning, read the Peer Gynt Suite listening guide. To draw the four parts, read listening maps for kids.
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This article is part of Classical music listening guides for kids: famous pieces, one at a time.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.