Il Balletto di Bronzo

Il Balletto di Bronzo (Italian: "Bronze Ballet") was an Italian progressive rock band from Naples. They formed in the mid 1960s, and released two albums, Sirio 2222 and Ys, before disbanding in 1973.

Sirio 2222 (1970) is a psychedelic album originally released on RCA. At this time, the band was Marco Cecioni (vocals, guitar), Lino Ajello (guitar), Michele Cupaiuolo (bass) and Giancarlo Stinga (drums).

In 1971 both Cecioni and Cupaiuolo left the band, replaced by Gianni Leone (vocals, keyboards), from the band Città Frontale, and Vito Manzari (bass), formerly of Rome's Quelle Strane Cose Che. This line-up released Ys in 1971 on Polydor, a very innovative album, regarded as one of the finest examples of Italian symphonic rock.

Written by Leone, Ys is a concept album divided into four parts: "Introduzione", "Primo Incontro", "Secondo Incontro" and "Terzo Incontro ed Epilogo". Beginning with an atmospheric organ and vocal intro and relentlessly mounting in intensity for the following 38 minutes, Ys is a narrative alluding to the legend of the mythical city of the same name. Stylistically the album moves through odd-metered fusion, progressive and psychedelic rock and avant-garde/free jazz leanings. Gianni Leone's keyboards and vocals dominate, though Ajello, Stinga and Manzari all deliver fine performances. Texturally the album is particularly rich, as it features Moog synthesizers, mellotrons, spinet, female voices and numerous stereo and tape effects. Its density and heavy use of dissonance have earned it a reputation as a difficult, if potentially rewarding, listen.

The band released several singles, among them "Neve Calda/Cominciò per gioco", "Si, Mama Mama/Meditazione" and "La tua casa comoda/Donna Vittoria". Over the years, some rarities, including previously unreleased Spanish language singles have surfaced.

Despite breaking up in the early 1970s, Il Balletto di Bronzo continued to exert an influence, mostly on the strength of their second album. Several bands, amongst them Nurse With Wound, have cited them as an influence, and the album Ys has been reissued at different times in Italy, Korea and Japan.

In the late 1990s, Gianni Leone reformed the band as a trio, recording the live album Trys. As of this writing this incarnation of the band is still active as a live ensemble with a rotating roster, Leone being the sole constant.