Carolina Rosati (1826–1905) was an Italian ballet dancer who gained fame with the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

and the

Imperial Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

in St Petersburg.

Early life

Carolina Galletti was born in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, Italy, on 13 December 1826. At the age of seven, she began training under Carlo Blasis. After she married her dancing partner Francesco Rosati, she was known as Carolina Rosati.

Career

In 1841, Rosati danced as

prima ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

at the Teatro Apollo in Rome. Two years later she appeared in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

and

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

. She danced at La Scala, Milan together with her husband in 1846. The same year she danced

Jules Perrot Jules-Joseph Perrot (18 August 1810 – 29 August 1892) was a dancer and choreographer who later became Ballet Master of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. He created some of the most famous ballets of the 19th century including ...

's ''Pas de Quatre'' at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

, London, where she also danced ''Fiorita et la Reine des Elfrides'' (1848) and ''La Prima ballerina'' (1849) which Paul Taglioni had created for her. She began dancing in Paris in 1851 appearing in a dance sequence in

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

's opera ''La Tempesta''. Two years later, after she had danced in

Joseph Mazilier Joseph Mazilier (1 March 1801 in Marseilles – 19 May 1868 in Paris) was a 19th-century French dancer, balletmaster and choreographer. He was born as ''Giulio Mazarini''. He was most noted for his ballets '' Paquita'' (1844) and '' Le Corsaire ...

's ''Jovita, ou les Boucaniers'', she was engaged by the Paris Opera as their latest star, apparently becoming the highest paid dancer at the time. She created roles in several of Mazilier's ballets in which her sense of drama was revealed to the full, as when she played Amalia in ''La Fonti'' (1855) or her highly successful Médora in ''Le Corsaire'' (1856). Above all, she received great acclaim in ''Marco Spada'' (1857) where she appeared with Amalia Ferraris. When her rival Angelina Fioretti arrived in Paris in 1859, she left for St Petersburg's Imperial Theatre where she appeared in ''Jovita'' and in ballets created for her by Arthur Saint-Léon and

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

. In 1862, she danced Aspicia in Marius Petipa's '' The Pharaoh's Daughter''. She also danced all the great classical roles in ''

Paquita ''Paquita'' is a ballet in two acts and three scenes originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to music by Édouard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus. Paul Foucher received royalties as librettist. History ''Paquita'' is the creation of French comp ...

'', '' Giselle'', '' Le Cheval de Bronze'', '' La Somnabule'' and '' La Esmeralda''. She retired in 1862 and died in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

in May 1905.

Assessment

The ''Oxford Dictionary of Dance'' describes her as "A plump, vivacious, and graceful dancer ... renowned for the precision of her pointe work, also for her expressive mime."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosati, Carolina 1826 births 1905 deaths Italian female dancers People from Bologna Prima ballerinas Rosati 19th-century Italian ballet dancers 19th-century ballet dancers from the Russian Empire