Virginia Zucchi
Virginia Zucchi (10 February 1849 – 12 October 1930) was an Italian dancer. Born in Parma, her career as a ballerina spanned from 1864 to 1898. She was known as "the Divine Virginia" for her artistry, expressiveness, and virtuoso.[1]
Zucchi studied ballet under Carlo Blasis in Milan,[2] She made her debut in 1864 in Varese and danced throughout Italy, as well as in Berlin and Paris. In 1885, she went to St. Petersburg to dance for the summer at Kin Grust. Zucchi became so popular and highly regarded from these appearances that she joined the Mariinsky Theatre in Russia from 1885 to 1888.[3] During these three years, she performed in many of Marius Petipa's ballets and ballet revivals, including The Pharaoh's Daughter (1885), La Fille Mal Gardée (1885) La Esmeralda (1886), and The King's Command or The Pupils of Dupré (1887). On one occasion under Petipa, Zucchi performed an enitre solo en pointe.[4]
After her tenure in the Mariinsky Theatre came to an end, Zucchi danced in Moscow and St. Petersburg with her own company in the late 1880s and the early 1890s. She also performed in the Palais Garnier (Opera of Paris) in 1895. Her final performance was in Nice in 1898. She also contributed to the development of the St. Petersburg ballet school, and her influence in this led to the school making greater demands of its dancers in terms of technical perfection.[2]
Zucchi later retired to Monte Carlo, becoming a teacher.[2] Her dancing influenced many ballerinas after her, including Mathilde Kschessinska. When Kschessinska first saw Zucchi in person, she said:
I was fourteen when the famous Virginia Zucchi arrived in St Petersburg. From the day that Zucchi appeared on our stage I began to work with fire, energy and application: my one dream was to emulate her. The result was that when I left the School I already had a complete mastery of technique.[5]
She died in Nice on 12 October 1930.
Notes
- ^ Suchanek, Isabel. "Bakst-Portrait of Virginia Zucchi". Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ a b c Kassing, Gayle (2007). History of dance: an interactive arts approach. Human Kinetics. p. 145. ISBN 9780736060356.
- ^ Guest, 120
- ^ Leach, Robert (1999). A history of Russian theatre. Cambridge University Press. p. 189. ISBN 9780521432207.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Scholl, Tim (1994). From Petipa to Balanchine: classical revival and the modernization of ballet. Routledge. ISBN 9780415092227.
References
- Guest, Ivor Forbes (1977). The Divine Virginia: A Biography of Virginia Zucchi. M. Dekker. p. 187. ISBN 9780824764920.