- In full:
- Francesca Teresa Giuseppa Raffaela Cerrito
- Born:
- May 11, 1817, Naples, Italy
- Died:
- May 6, 1909, Paris, France (aged 91)
Fanny Cerrito
-
Who was Fanny Cerrito?
Fanny Cerrito (1817–1909) was an Italian ballerina celebrated for her brilliance, strength, and vivacity. She stands as one of the few 19th-century women to achieve distinction as a choreographer.
Trained at the ballet school of the San Carlo opera house, Cerrito debuted in 1832 and quickly gained recognition in Italy. Her fame spread beyond Italy when she performed in Vienna in 1836–37, showcasing her choreographic talent. From 1840 to 1848, she was an acclaimed dancer at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, captivating audiences with her style. In 1845, she presented her own ballet, Rosida.
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Where was Fanny Cerrito born and where did she become famous?
Fanny Cerrito was born in Naples, Italy, on May 11, 1817. She trained at the ballet school of the San Carlo opera house and quickly gained recognition in Italy as a rising ballet star, making her stage debut in 1832. Her fame began to spread beyond Italy in 1836–37 when she performed in Vienna, showcasing her choreographic talent. Between 1840 and 1848, Cerrito became an acclaimed dancer at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, where London society embraced her. During these nine seasons, her captivating style flourished under the guidance of ballet master Jules Perrot, who created successful ballets for her.
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What style of dance did Fanny Cerrito perform?
Fanny Cerrito, an Italian ballerina born in 1817, was celebrated for her brilliance, strength, and vivacity in dancing. She trained at the ballet school of the San Carlo opera house and quickly gained recognition in Italy. Cerrito's fame extended beyond Italy when she performed in Vienna, showcasing her talent for arranging her own dances. From 1840 to 1848, she was an acclaimed dancer at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, captivating audiences with her airy and ebullient style. During this time, she performed in successful ballets created by Jules Perrot, including Alma (1842), Ondine (1843), and Lalla Rookh (1846). Cerrito was one of four celebrated ballerinas to perform in the Pas de quatre in London in 1845.
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What were some of Fanny Cerrito's most famous roles or ballets?
Fanny Cerrito, an Italian ballerina, was celebrated for her brilliance and strength as a dancer and for her choreography.
Some of her most famous roles and ballets include:
* Alma (1842)
* Ondine (1843)
* Lalla Rookh (1846)
* Pas de quatre (1845)
* Le Jugement de Pâris (1846)
* Les Éléments (1847)
* Les Quatre Saisons (1848)
* Rosida (1845), which she choreographed herself
* Le Violon du diable (1849)
* Gemma (1854), which she both choreographed and danced in
* Armida, a major ballet produced for her by Perrot1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Fanny Cerrito influence ballet during her time?
Fanny Cerrito was an Italian ballerina celebrated for her brilliance, strength, and vivacity in dancing. She was also among the few 19th-century women to gain recognition as a choreographer.
Between 1840 and 1848, Cerrito became an acclaimed dancer at Her Majesty’s Theatre, captivating London society with her airy and ebullient style. During these seasons, Jules Perrot, as ballet master, created successful ballets for her, including Alma (1842), Ondine (1843), and Lalla Rookh (1846). Cerrito also arranged several dances for Alma.
Her choreographic talent was further acknowledged in 1845 when she presented Rosida, a ballet of her own composition. Cerrito, along with other great ballerinas like Taglioni, Grisi, and Elssler, were written about by the French journalist and poet, Théophile Gautier, whose work created a detailed chronicle of dance from 1836 until his death.
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Why is Fanny Cerrito considered important in the history of dance?
Fanny Cerrito is an important figure in dance history due to her brilliance, strength, and vivacity as a ballerina, as well as being one of the few women in the 19th century to achieve distinction as a choreographer.
She gained recognition throughout Europe for her talent and creativity in arranging her own dances. London society adored her during her nine seasons at Her Majesty’s Theatre, where she starred in successful ballets created by Jules Perrot. Cerrito's choreographic talent was recognized in 1845 when she presented her own ballet, Rosida. She later choreographed and danced in Gemma in 1854.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Fanny Cerrito (born May 11, 1817, Naples, Italy—died May 6, 1909, Paris, France) was a ballerina noted for the brilliance, strength, and vivacity of her dancing, and one of the few women in the 19th century to achieve distinction as a choreographer.
The daughter of an officer in the Neapolitan army, Cerrito was trained in the ballet school of the San Carlo opera house, latterly under the supervision of Salvatore Taglioni. She made her first stage appearance in 1832 and quickly established a reputation in Italy as a future star of the ballet. In 1836–37 her fame began to spread beyond Italy when she appeared in Vienna, where she revealed a creative side to her talent by arranging some of her own dances. Between 1838 and 1840, engaged as principal ballerina at La Scala in Milan, she attracted still wider attention. The French writer Alfred de Musset worked her into one of his poems, and the director of the Paris Opéra hurried to see her, only to be forestalled by a rival impresario from London.
For nine successive seasons, from 1840 to 1848, Cerrito was an acclaimed dancer at Her Majesty’s Theatre, and London society took her to their hearts. These seasons, when her airy and ebullient style was at its most captivating, coincided with the engagement as ballet master of Jules Perrot, who produced a series of successful ballets for her, including Alma (1842), for which she herself arranged several dances, Ondine (1843), and Lalla Rookh (1846). Perrot also created four multi-stellar works featuring Cerrito: Pas de quatre (1845), Le Jugement de Pâris (1846), Les Éléments (1847), and Les Quatre Saisons (1848). In 1845 her choreographic talent was recognized when she presented a ballet of her own composition, Rosida.
In Vienna, on a single occasion in 1841, she had danced in a pas de deux with a promising newcomer, Arthur Saint-Léon. In 1843 their paths crossed again in London, where he became her regular partner and, in 1845, her husband. From 1847 to 1851 the couple were engaged at the Paris Opéra, where Saint-Léon created Le Violon du diable (1849) for her. Between London seasons Cerrito and Saint-Léon toured widely; Italy was a frequent venue, but their travels also took them as far afield as Brussels, Berlin, and Pest, Hungary.
The couple separated in 1851, both maritally and professionally. Cerrito returned to the Opéra in 1852 and remained attached to that theatre until 1855. In 1854 she both choreographed and danced in Gemma, a ballet with a scenario written by Théophile Gautier. In 1855–56 she visited St. Petersburg, where Perrot produced a major ballet, Armida, for her. It was there that she narrowly escaped from a falling piece of burning scenery, an event that is believed to have precipitated her decision to retire. Her last appearances appropriately took place in London, the scene of her early conquests, in 1857.
Cerrito retired to live the rest of her life in Paris, where she brought up her daughter, Matilde, the fruit of a liaison with a Spanish grandee, the marqués de Bedmar. Her death in 1909 passed quite unnoticed in the Paris press.