Giuseppina Bozzachi
Encyclopedia
Giuseppina Bozzacchi was an Italian
ballerina
, noted for creating the role of Swanhilda in Léo Delibes
' ballet Coppélia
at the age of 16.
Bozzacchi had come to Paris to study with Mme Dominique. The choreographer, Arthur Saint-Léon
, and the director of the Académie Royale de Musique
, Émile Perrin
, had been searching for a suitable Swanhilda, after deciding that none of the ballerinas previously considered – Léontine Beaugrand, Angelina Fioretti and Adèle Grantzou – were suitable. They even asked the composer Léo Delibes
to seek out a suitable Swanilda on his trip to Italy. He returned empty-handed, but in the meantime Saint-Léon and Perrin had discovered Bozzacchi.
She created Swanhilda on 25 May 1870 in the presence of Emperor Napoleon III. She repeated her success in the following weeks. In July an international dispute broke out between France and Prussia over the succession to the Spanish throne, and on 19 July France declared war. Giuseppina Bozzacchi danced Swanhilda for the 18th and last time on 31 August, when the Paris Opéra closed for the duration of the Franco-Prussian War
. The Opéra had stopped paying salaries, and Giuseppina, weakened by lack of food, became ill. She contracted smallpox and fever, and died on the morning of her 17th birthday.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
, noted for creating the role of Swanhilda in Léo Delibes
Léo Delibes
Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French composer of ballets, operas, and other works for the stage...
' ballet Coppélia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
at the age of 16.
Bozzacchi had come to Paris to study with Mme Dominique. The choreographer, Arthur Saint-Léon
Arthur Saint-Leon
Arthur Saint-Léon was the Maître de Ballet of St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet from 1859 until 1869 and is famous for creating the choreography of the ballet Coppélia.-Biography:...
, and the director of the Académie Royale de Musique
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
, Émile Perrin
Émile Perrin
Émile-César-Victor Perrin was a French painter, mainly known as a theatre director and impresario, born in Rouen on 9 January 1814, died 8 October 1885. His son-in-law was Camille du Locle....
, had been searching for a suitable Swanhilda, after deciding that none of the ballerinas previously considered – Léontine Beaugrand, Angelina Fioretti and Adèle Grantzou – were suitable. They even asked the composer Léo Delibes
Léo Delibes
Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French composer of ballets, operas, and other works for the stage...
to seek out a suitable Swanilda on his trip to Italy. He returned empty-handed, but in the meantime Saint-Léon and Perrin had discovered Bozzacchi.
She created Swanhilda on 25 May 1870 in the presence of Emperor Napoleon III. She repeated her success in the following weeks. In July an international dispute broke out between France and Prussia over the succession to the Spanish throne, and on 19 July France declared war. Giuseppina Bozzacchi danced Swanhilda for the 18th and last time on 31 August, when the Paris Opéra closed for the duration of the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
. The Opéra had stopped paying salaries, and Giuseppina, weakened by lack of food, became ill. She contracted smallpox and fever, and died on the morning of her 17th birthday.
External links
- Find A Grave website
- The creation of Coppelia (originally at
http://www.ballet.org.uk/reference/notes/coppelia/creation.html ; now archived)