margotfonteyns: The original Swanhilda: Giuseppina Bozzacchi in costume for Coppélia, present
margotfonteyns: The original Swanhilda: Giuseppina Bozzacchi in costume for Coppélia, presented at the Paris Opéra on May 25, 1870 The story of Giuseppina Bozzacchi is arguably more tragic and fantastic than any ballet plot. Plucked from obscurity at a time when the Paris Opéra was desperately lacking in star dancers, she was given the thrilling but intimidating task of dancing the lead role in what was the Opéra’s most important new ballet for several seasons. Though only sixteen, the young dancer interpreted the role with the sparkle and surety of an experienced virtuoso, and both ballet and ballerina were enthusiastically embraced by the public. While her fame and popularity grew with each performance, Giuseppina would ultimately dance Swanhilda on only eighteen occasions: the ballet’s run was brought to an abrupt end by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, and, as the invading army stalked closer and closer to the capital, the Opéra was finally forced to close its doors just two weeks before the Siege of Paris. Already frail and malnourished, Giuseppina’s body was unable to withstand the famine and fever that the siege imposed. She died on the morning of November 23, 1870–her seventeenth birthday. Léo Delibes played the organ at her burial service, incorporating various melodies from Coppélia into the funeral march, while the Opéra’s director, Émile Perrin, delivered an emotional oration. Addressing the white marguerites that lined the edge of Giuseppina’s grave, he concluded his speech with the following fitting epitaph: “These pure emblems of candour, youth and innocence can be no purer, no more chaste, no more immaculate than was this charming being who is today no more than a memory, and who bore the name of Giuseppina Bozzacchi.” -- source link