Vincenzo Galeotti (5 March 1733 – 16 December 1816) was an Italian-born Danish dancer, choreographer and ballet master, who was influential as the director of the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the R ...

from 1775 until his death.

Life

Vincenzo Tomasselli was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. He studied medicine but then decided to be a dancer. He was trained by

Gasparo Angiolini Gasparo Angiolini (7 February 1731 – 6 February 1803), real name Domenico Maria Gasparo, son of Francesco Angiolini and Maria Maddalena Torzi, was an Italian dancer, choreographer and composer. He was born in Florence and died in Milan. He is ...

, just two years older than his student. In 1759 he joined the company of Giuseppe Forti, which performed in Venice at the Teatro San Moisè, with the stage name ''Galeotti''. In 1761, he joined the dance company of another Venice theatre, San Benedetto. In 1763 he married the principal dancer Antonia Guidi, who was trained in Stuttgart by

Jean-Georges Noverre Jean-Georges Noverre (29 April 1727 19 October 1810) was a French dancer and balletmaster, and is generally considered the creator of ''ballet d'action'', a precursor of the narrative ballets of the 19th century. His birthday is now observed as ...

. In 1765, at the Teatro San Benedetto, he choreographed his first works. Next season he worked at the Teatro San Luca. In 1766–1767, the couple performed in Torino Opera and in 1767–1769 again in Venice, in San Benedetto. In 1769–1770 they were in London at the Haymarket Opera where Galeotti choreographed dances for Christoph Willibald Gluck's '' Orfeo ed Euridice''. In 1771–1772 they worked in Milan under direction of Jean-Georges Noverre. In 1772–1773 they went back to Venice, to the Teatro San Moisè and in 1773 moved to Genoa. In 1775 Galeotti was called to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

assume the directorship of the

replacing another Italian,

Antonio Sacco Antonio Sacchi (1708–1788) was an Italian improvisational actor, renowned for his performance as the Commedia dell'arte stock character Truffaldino. Sacchi's lasting influence was in requesting playwright Carlo Goldoni to lay a dramatic structu ...

. His wife Antonia entered the company a year later but soon left the stage in order to teach. Galeotti remained in Copenhagen for the rest of his life, obtaining Danish citizenship and a lifetime directorship in 1781. Galeotti continued to perform in mime roles until 1812. In that year, very unusually for a performing artist, he was made a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog. In 1814, he was also awarded a titulary professorship. Galeotti was the teacher of the noted ballerina Anine Frølich, making her the star of his innovative choreography. They were also romantically involved, but the relationship ended unhappily.

Works

Galeotti was a leading innovator of ballet in Scandinavia. He was instrumental in introducing the ''

Ballet d'action Ballet d'action is a hybrid genre of expressive and symbolic ballet that emerged during the 18th century. One of its chief aims was to liberate the conveyance of a story via spoken or sung words, relying simply on quality of movement to communicate ...

'' to Danmark and created the first ballet with a Nordic subject ('' Lagertha'', 1801, based on the legendary Viking shieldmaiden), as well as the first choreographies inspired by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(''Romeo and Juliet'', 1811, and ''Macbeth'', 1816), with music written by

Claus Schall Claus Nielsen Schall (28 April 1757 – 10 August 1835) was a Danish violinist and composer. Notable works *Bønderne og herrerne på lystgården (ballet 1778) *Kjærlighedens og Mistankens Magt (ballet 1780) *Savoyardinderne (ballet 1781 ...

. He created more than 50 works, often adapting French tragedies or moral dramas for ballet. Galeotti's most lasting success, and the only work by him still commonly performed today, is '' Amors og Balletmesterens Luner'' (''The Whims of Cupid and the Ballet Master,'' 1786), which is the oldest European ballet still danced to its original choreography and music (by ); it has been staged more than 500 times.

References

* Dansk Biografisk Leksikon
Vincenzo Galeotti
* Danske Literaturpriser

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galeotti, Vincenzo 18th-century Italian ballet dancers Ballet masters Italian choreographers 1733 births 1816 deaths Royal Danish Ballet dancers Danish choreographers 18th-century Danish ballet dancers Danish male ballet dancers Italian male ballet dancers Italian emigrants to Denmark