The Ballet comique de la Reyne was created by the court musician at the behest of the Queen to celebrate the marriage of her sister, Margaret of Lorraine, to the Duke of Joyeuse on October 15, 1581.
The libretto was based on the 10th book of the Odyssey, which tells the story of Circe, a sorceress with the power to subjugate mythological figures. The ballet show combined elements of music, song, dance and recitation, and Belioioso himself described it as "a geometric mixture of many people dancing together to the sound of many instruments".
