Anna Khristianovna Johanson (1860-1917) - ballerina, soloist of the Imperial Theaters , daughter of a prominent figure in the St. Petersburg ballet Christian Johanson . She danced mainly on the stage of the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater , after the end of her dancing career, she taught at the Imperial Theater School .
| Anna Johanson | |
|---|---|
| Anna Johansson | |
 Anna Johanson (center) in the ballet Sleeping Beauty | |
| Date of Birth | 1860 |
| Place of Birth | Saint Petersburg , Russian Empire |
| Date of death | 1917 |
| Place of death | Petrograd |
| Citizenship |  Russian empire |
| Profession | ballet dancer , ballet teacher |
| Years of activity | 1878-1898 |
| Theater | Mariinsky Theatre |
Biography
She studied ballet with her father, a leading teacher of the St. Petersburg dance school. She studied without being enrolled in a theater school at the public expense and graduated with an external student. In 1878 she was enrolled in the ballet troupe, made her debut in the ballet Esmeralda .
Anna Johanson “quite fully expressed the principles of her father and Marius Petipa in stage activity” [1] . She was a dancer of a brilliant but chilly style [1] : “grace, plasticity, roundness of gestures and movements, and strict purity of dances without any acrobatic tricks - these are the best qualities of the talent of Ms. Johanson” [2] [1] .
Acting was the ballerina’s weak point: Johanson is an “artist with a serious school”, dances “always correctly, cleanly”, has “innate grace” and “remarkable plasticity of movements”, but mimics “pale and dry” [3] [1] . After her debut in the ballet “ Packeretta ”, the critic praised the artist’s abilities:
Those who advise her to act in the first roles of mimic ballets do not wish her well: with the stillness of her pretty physiognomy it is impossible to convey to the public the content of the ballet, which is almost entirely based on mimic conversations.
- The old balletoman New Ballet [4] [1]
At the same time, the classical dance of the ballerina itself was appreciated by contemporaries:
The wonderful decoration of Ms. Johanson’s dances, the grace and artistic taste that marked every movement of this artist, the excellent elevation and, finally, the advantageous stage appearance brought the artist complete and well-deserved success [* 1] .
- Cabriole. Ballet. [5] [1]
Critics have repeatedly preferred the ballerina when comparing with the virtuoso Italian soloists who toured in St. Petersburg: as A. A. Pleshcheyev wrote in connection with the debut on the Imperial stage of the ballerina Carlotta Brianza , “our soloists Ms. Johanson and Nikitina , of course, neither in which they will not be inferior to the Italian starlet, but in the airiness and lightness far surpass it ” [6] [1] .
In the season of 1883/1884, Johanson performed on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater , playing the main role in the Moscow premiere of the ballet “ Roksana, the beauty of Montenegro ” - choreographer A. N. Bogdanov , who transferred this ballet to Petipa in Moscow, specially went to the capital to pat in Office of the Imperial Theaters on touring the ballerina [1] . In 1884, when Catherine Wazem retired, Johanson performed in the role of Nikiya created for that role in the ballet La Bayadere , after which the performance left the theater’s repertoire [* 2] .
January 3, 1890 participated in the premiere of the ballet Sleeping Beauty , becoming the first performer of two parties - the fairies of the Canaries and the fairies of Diamonds.
She graduated from a dance career in 1898, after which, like her father, she taught at the Imperial Theater School , and also taught a ballerina improvement class. Among the students of Anna Johanson are Olga Preobrazhenskaya and Lyubov Egorova .
Repertoire
- Grand pas of stars , “ Order of the King ” by M. Petipa ( Pepita - Virginia Zucci)
- November 27, 1883 - Roksana * [* 3] , “Roksana, the beauty of Montenegro” by M. Petipa directed by A. Bogdanov
- 1884 - Packeretta , "Packeretta" by M. Petipa; Nikia , La Bayadere by M. Petipa
- January 1885 - The Cypriot Statue by M. Petipa
- November 10, 1885 - Ramsey [* 4] [1] , “ Daughter of the Pharaoh ” by M. Petipa ( Aspichchia - Virginia Zucca)
- January 3, 1890 - Canary Fairy *, Diamonds Fairy *, "Sleeping Beauty" by M. Petipa
- July 24, 1890 - Diana *, "The Amur Prank" by L. Ivanov [* 5]
- April 11, 1893 - Lisa * [* 6] , The Magic Flute by L. Ivanov
She also performed solo parts in the ballets Esmeralda, Harlem Tulip , The Nutcracker and other performances that made up the Mariinsky Theater repertoire at that time.
(*) - first performer
Literature
V. M. Krasovskaya . Russian Ballet Theater of the second half of the XIX century, "Art", 1963.
Notes
- Comments
- ↑ Regarding the performance in the ballet “Cypriot Statue”.
- ↑ Until 1900, when it was renewed specifically for MF Kshesinskaya .
- ↑ When transferring a performance from St. Petersburg to the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater.
- ↑ “The whole choreographic gamut takes place in one of its variations in pas d'action <...> and everything composed in one continuous variation was performed with complete harmony, without violating the integrity of the impressions. None of the notes of the scale was skimmed ... " [7]
- ↑ On the stage of the Krasnoselsky Theater, November 11 - premiere on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater.
- ↑ When transferring a performance from a ballet school to the stage of the Mariinsky Theater.
- Sources
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Krasovskaya, V. M. The Russian Ballet Theater of the second half of the 19th century. - L .: Art, 1963. - 552 p.
- ↑ A.H. Johanson. Petersburg newspaper, 1898, No. 289 of October 21.
- ↑ "Russian Vedomosti", 1883, No. 328 of November 29.
- ↑ "Russian Vedomosti", 1884, No. 50 of February 19.
- ↑ St. Petersburg Gazette, 1885, No. 22 of January 22.
- ↑ Petersburg Newspaper, 1889, No. 16 of January 17.
- ↑ S. N. Khudekov . Theatrical echo. Petersburg newspaper, 1885, No. 318 of November 19.