Galeotti, Vincenzo

Vincenzo Tomaselli was born in Florence in 1733. A medical student, he became interested in theater and abandoned science for the sake of choreography, becoming a student of Gasparo Anjolini , who was only two years older than him ^[1] . In 1759, taking the pseudonym Galeotti, he joined the troupe of Giuseppe Forti, performing on the stage of the Venetian ^{[* 1]} . In 1761, he was invited to the corps de ballet of the San Benedetto Theater , where he worked under the direction of choreographer Pierre Grange .

In 1763, Vincenzo married the ballerina Anthony Guidi, who was also a student of Anjolini, and in Stuttgart, where she danced the year before - the choreographer J.-J. Noverra . In 1765, having led the ballet troupe of the San Benedetto Theater, consisting of a soloist - his wife Anthony, two soloists, and sixteen corps de ballet dancers, he first tried his hand as a director ^[1] .

The next season, Galeotti worked at , where, according to the traditions of the time, he staged ballet divertissements in operas, and then, in 1766–67, at the Royal Theater of Turin . For the next two seasons, the Galeotti couple again returned to Venice, to the San Benedetto Theater , and the season 1769-1770 was held in London, where the choreographer staged dances for KV Gluck’s opera Orpheus and Eurydice at the Royal Haymarket Theater . In 1771, Antonia danced at the La Scala Theater, where J.-J. was then the main choreographer. Noverre and it is possible that Vincenzo also danced in his ballets. The couple spent the season 1772-1773 in Venice, in the San Moise Theater, while nearby, in the San Benedetto Theater, their teacher Gasparo Anjolini actively worked at that time - during this period Galeotti fully followed his principles, and in a theoretical dispute Noverra and Anjolini took the side of the latter ^[1] . From the fall of 1773, Galeotti worked in Genoa until in 1775 he was invited to Copenhagen to replace another Italian, Antonio Sacco , as the first choreographer of the Royal Theater of Denmark . Antonia joined her husband a year later: for two seasons she soloed in his ballets, and then left the stage and took up teaching.

Work in Copenhagen

Galeotti's first production on the Danish stage was the transfer of his own ballet, “The Hunt of Henry IV,” (premiered on October 20, 1775). In his works, at first he was heavily influenced by Anjolini, reproducing entire scenes from the teacher’s performances and using his scripts and music ^{[* 2]} , but gradually his productions “became more independent in style, because they more clearly applied the principle of dramatic pantomime” ^{[2] [1]} .

Galeotti’s works appealed to the Danish audience: in 1778, the critic and playwright wrote about the “dramatic and picturesque composition” of his ballets, welcomed “the ability and taste of the choreographer in the arrangement of the groups, his ability to put complex plots into dances”, attributing the merits of the choreographer to the perception of the aesthetic idea of ​​Noverra ^[1] . The choreographer’s colleagues also highly appreciated his talent: Antoine Bournonville , who danced the main parts in many of his ballets, noted in his memoirs that “ Semiramis ” has “scenes that make a great impression”, the ballet “ ” is “unusually funny ”And referred to“ a delightful composition ”, then“ a brilliantly composed Russian pas de deux ” ^[3] .

The choreographer worked closely with Danish composers, primarily Klaus Schall - they jointly created 17 performances, “thanks to them both great musical and choreographic traditions were created, continued by Bournonville and his musical collaborators” ^{[4] [1]} .

In 1781, the Galeotti couple received Danish citizenship, and Vincenzo himself was granted life-long directorship. In 1786, the choreographer staged a one-act comedy ballet to the music of “The Fads of Cupid and Choreographer ”, which withstood more than 500 performances and has been preserved in the repertoire of the Royal Danish Ballet to this day, being the oldest surviving work of classical choreography.

In 1801, the premiere of one of the most significant works of Galeotti - the synthetic ballet with arias and choirs " Lagerta " to the music of Klaus Schall and the script , based on the plot of the old Scandinavian saga. The main role in the play was performed by the student of the choreographer , in the role of her lover, Ragnar Lodbrog , Bournonville-father acted. Lagerta, being one of the rare examples of performances on the national theme of that era, became the first Danish ballet on a national theme and was a huge success. Galeotti received universal praise, and his work, anticipating the main motives of Nordic romanticism ^[3] , for many years took pride of place on the Danish scene ^[5] . Bournonville, the son who made his debut as a child in his ballet, noted in his Memoirs that “... the most remarkable thing in Galeotti’s career is that he only reached the highest limit after 26 years of activity [in Copenhagen] and at the age of 67 as a ballet composer, and it was in the very tragic style that marked his first performances ” ^[3] .

In 1802, the choreographer composed the tragicomic ballet “ Nina, or Crazy from Love, ” however, starting from the popular opera of the composer Daleirac (1786), he did not succeed in the ballet version of the plot, which requires psychological development of characters. In the 20s, while in Paris, and seeing the Milon ballet of the same name in 1813, Bournonville involuntarily compared him to the Galeotti performance not in favor of the latter, arguing that his work “is as stereotypical and primitive as a spectacle in in Tivoli . "

In 1808, Galeotti presented to the public the ballet “ Rolf Bluebeard ” in the style of the Gothic “horror novel” ^[1] , in which, according to Bournonville, the mimic treatment of the French operetta so thickened the gloomy colors of the melodrama that many spectators made nervous fits ^{[ 5]} .

In 1811, Galeotti first introduced the Danish public to Shakespeare’s tragedy “ Romeo and Juliet ” by performing a “pantomime opera” performance with arias, choirs ^{[* 3]} and a happy ending. The role of Romeo was played by Antoine Bournonville, and the 78-year-old choreographer himself took the stage as Pater Lorenzo. “This last role was performed with purely apostolic solemnity until the artist, as a reward for his indisputable merits, was granted the Knight's Cross of Dannebrog . From that moment on, the appearance on the stage was declared incompatible with his high distinction ” ^[5] . In this ballet ...

... there were scenes of exciting interest and position developed by the hand of a master. The pantomime of the Italian cut uses special auxiliary means, partly consisting of a whole dictionary of conditional gestures borrowed from folk life, from the life of the Romans and Neapolitans, partly for the sake of clarity, from banners and banners that, like the Nineveh fire writings, portend fatal events. Galeotti possessed the ability and experience to use these tools, like few, and his audience, accustomed to understand them for two generations, followed the development of the action with trustful, even reverent attention. Therefore, it is not surprising that writers and painters vied to express their unconditional recognition to the aged artist.

- Augustus Bournonville ^[5] .

Years later, Bournonville, Jr., having met actress in society, immediately asked her if she remembers Galeotti's most wonderful ballet, Romeo and Juliet, and whether she would like to dance with him. She had a wonderful memory, and they played some of the best tragic scenes absolutely correctly and quite seriously, but the traditional, constantly repeating mincing steps and the canonical repetition of each movement, each expression made such a comic impression three times that everyone present laughed ^[3] .

The last work of the choreographer was the ballet Macbeth (1816). The idea of ​​the performance came to Galeotti long before the premiere:

An unforgettable evening about five years ago, the old man took me from the auditorium to the directorate room and began to talk about the plan of the ballet “McBert”, painting in front of me stage by stage with such inspiration, such power, such fire, which I have never seen in any performance him - neither on stage, nor outside of it. His amazing eloquence, his only inherent language, the magic language of gestures and movements, made an indelible impression on me.

- August Bournonville. Dansk Minerva, 1817 ^[3] .

The audience, already fascinated by the fashionable genre of melodrama, the ballet seemed stretched and boring, nevertheless, the audience “still admired the rare creative power of the 82-year-old choreographer who decided not to give up until the end of his days” ^[1] .

The choreographer died in 1816 and was buried in in Copenhagen. His best works for several decades were preserved in the repertoire of the theater ^{[* 4]} , but then, in the heyday of romantic ballet and in the midst of Bournonville, gradually came to naught. The daughter of Bournonville Charlotte testified that although her father was of the opinion that the works of Galeotti “are in their former form are up-to-date”, “he did not consider himself entitled to modernize them” ^[3] .

Galeotti is the author of over 50 ballets, shown during his lifetime more than 2,200 times. Over 40 years of work in Copenhagen, he created an extensive repertoire, including genre comedies, dance dramas, ballets on both exotic ^{[* 5]} and Danish everyday themes ^{[* 6]} , as well as all kinds of divertissements. Having introduced the principles of choreodrama in Scandinavia and often using adapted plots of French opera tragedies for his performances, Galeotti in his work moved from the laws of classicism to the direction of sentimental melodrama, thereby opening the way for the emergence of romantic ballet. Bournonville characterized Galeotti as the successor to Anjolini and compared him to another prominent choreodrama figure, Salvatore Vigano ^[3] .

San Luca Theater, Venice

• OK. 1766 - “Furies and geniuses turned into happy lovers” (divertissement to T. Traetta ’s opera Armida)

Reggio Theater, Turin

• 1766 ^[6] or 1767 - “The Stone Guest ” to the music of Messier (GA Le Messier) ^{[* 7]} , “Cupid and Psyche” (divertissements to the opera Tancred by Ferdinando Bertoni )

Royal Theater, Haymarket, London

• 1770 - divertissement to Gluck’s opera Orpheus and Eurydice

Theater San Moise, Venice

• 1772-1773 - The Banner, The Fair

Theater of genoa

• 1773-1775 - “Sweet Revenge”, “The Hunt of Henry IV” ^{[* 8]}

Royal Theater, Copenhagen

• October 20, 1775 - “The King on the Hunt”
• 1775 - "Peasants and gentlemen" *
• 1777 - “Abandoned Dido” ^{[* 9]} (Dido - )
• 1778 - “Art Subdued by Love” ^{[* 10]}
• 1780 - “Stone Guest”, “Chinese Orphan” to the music of K. V. Gluck, “The Power of Love and Suspicion” *
• 1782 - Herman and Dolomon *
• 1784 - “Punished Ignorance”, “ Cupid and Psyche ” *
• October 31, 1786 - “The Fads of Cupid and Choreographer” to music by Niels Lolle
• 1787 - Laundress and Tinker, Semiramis to the music of Jonannes Darb
• 1788 - Ceylon Idol, Recruiter
• January 30, 1801 - Lagerta *
• 1802 - "Nina, or Crazy from Love" * ^{[* 11]}
• 1808 - Rolf Bluebeard * ^{[* 12]}
• 1811 - Romeo and Juliet *
• 1816 - Macbeth * ^{[* 13]}
• ? - “Wayward wife”

(*) - ballets to the music of Klaus Schall

Galeotti has consistently worked on teaching Danish children ballet techniques. Over the years of work in Copenhagen, he trained a galaxy of local dancers, creating a national ensemble consisting mainly of youth ^[3] . Among his students are ballerinas Maria Cristina Bjorn, , Marianne Jensen . August Bournonville, although he was only 11 years old at the time of the death of the choreographer, is also listed among his students ^{[* 14]} . From Bournonville and other witnesses it is known that Galeotti, like other teachers of that time, spared neither children nor adult dancers during lessons and rehearsals: “screaming and scolding, sometimes even poking and tweaking, seemed like an essential ingredient as during school exercises, so when learning ballets. But this did not stop me from seeing a whole new circle of fantastic images unfurled before my admiring gaze, especially at the rehearsals of Galeotti's great tragic ballets ” ^[3] .

In 1812, Galeotti was granted the Order of Dannebrog, in 1814 he was awarded the title of professor.

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