Gennaro Magri
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Gennaro Magri was an Italian dancer, choreographer, pedagogue, and writer. Although the exact dates of his birth and death are unknown, it is assumed that Magri was born in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, Italy during the 1730s, and died in Madrid. Magri is best known for his work surrounding
grotesque dance Grotesque dance ( French: ''danse grotesque''; Italian: ''ballo grottesco'' or ''danza grottesca'') is a category of theatrical dance that became more clearly differentiated in the 18th century and was incorporated into ballet, although it had its ...
, a style of theatrical dance characterized by comedy, athleticism and acrobatics, whose roots lie in the Italian street tradition of
Commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...
.Bongiovanni, Salvatore. “Gennaro Magri, a Grotesque Dancer on the European Stage.” ''The Grotesque Dancer on the Eighteenth-Century Stage: Gennaro Magri and His World'', by Rebecca Harris-Warrick and Bruce Alan. Brown, University of Wisconsin Press, 2005, pp. 33–61, 91-108.


Career

Although very few records exist regarding Gennaro Magri's early life, it is assumed that his early training occurred in his home city of Naples, Italy. The first known record of Magri's dance career dates to 1758, where he performed as a principal dancer, or ''primo ballerino grottesco,'' at the Teatro Nuovo dell’ Accademia Filarmonica in Verona. Following his time as a dancer in Verona, Magri's career expanded to the international stage. From 1759 to 1760, Magri danced with the Kärntnertortheater ballet company, a prestigious Viennese company replete with dancers from across Europe, especially Italy. Magri later returned to a second season in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
(1763–64), where he danced in court operas, as well as ballets. Many of the choreographic constructs found in the Kärntnertortheater's productions proved formative to Magri's later work as a choreographer and pedagogue, such as the powerful relationship between dance and pantomime, and the importance of geographic location in creating a work. Throughout his itinerant career, Magri interacted with a variety of geographically and choreographically diverse influencers of the dance world who shaped his own choreographic style significantly. Despite the international scope of his career, Magri spent much of his time as a dancer and choreographer in his homeland of Italy. Following his first and second seasons in Vienna, Magri spent time as a grotesque dancer for Padua's Teatro Nuovo (1760, 1761, 1762, 1764), Venice's
Teatro San Angelo The Teatro San Angelo (in Venetian) or Teatro Sant'Angelo (in Italian) was once a theatre in Venice which ran from 1677 until 1803. It was the last of the major Venetian theatres to be built in the 1650s–60s opera craze following Teatro Santi G ...
(1760–61, 1764), Rome's
Teatro Argentina The Teatro Argentina (directly translating to "Theatre Argentina") is an opera house and theatre located in Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. One of the oldest theatres in Rome, it was constructed in 1731 and inaugurated on 31 ...
(1761–62), Reggio Emilia's Teatro Publicco (1761–62), Florence's Teatro Pergola (1764), and Turin's Teatro Regio (1762–65, 1767–78). During this time, Magri began to choreograph pieces of his own, most notably during his stay in Venice. After Magri's second season dancing in Vienna, he returned to Naples, and choreographed multiple ballets at the
Teatro San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and a ...
(1765–66, 1766–67, 1768–74) that showcased the wide range of virtuosic steps found in the grotesque repertoire. Many of these works were entr’acte ballets, performed between the acts of an opera with an unrelated plot. Magri then traveled to Milan, where he performed grotesque roles at the prestigious Regio Ducal Teatro (1767). During this time, Magri married the Milanese ''prima ballerina'' Teresa Stafani, although the exact date of their marriage is unknown. Magri continued to perform throughout Italy before returning to Naples in 1773. There is no record of Magri performing or choreographing after 1774, although he published a highly influential treatise on grotesque dance, ''Trattato teorico-prattico di ballo'', in 1779.Bongiovanni, Salvatore. “Magri in Naples: Defending the Italian Dance Tradition.” ''The Grotesque Dancer on the Eighteenth-Century Stage: Gennaro Magri and His World'', by Rebecca Harris-Warrick and Bruce Alan. Brown, University of Wisconsin Press, 2005, pp. 91-108.


Major works

Magri is perhaps best known for his treatise on
grotesque dance Grotesque dance ( French: ''danse grotesque''; Italian: ''ballo grottesco'' or ''danza grottesca'') is a category of theatrical dance that became more clearly differentiated in the 18th century and was incorporated into ballet, although it had its ...
(1779).' This work provides a detailed description of the virtuosic and athletic steps required of a ''ballerino grottesco'', and analyzes the movements that facilitate the execution of steps such as ''caprioles'', ''pirouettes'' and other types of intricate footwork. In addition, this treatise distinguishes between different types of theatrical dancers: ''ballerini seri'' (serious dancers), ''mezzo carattere'' (character dancers), and ''ballerini grotteschi'' (grotesque dancers). Although grotesque dance is characterized by humorous and athletic
stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...
s, a defining feature of Magri's ''Trattato'' is the fact that he presents the ''ballerini'' ''grotteschi'' as equally important and esteemed as the ''ballerini seri''. On this ''Trattato'', see the recent research led by A. B. Fabbricatore.Tomko, Linda. ''"''Magri's ''Grotteschi.''" ''The Grotesque Dancer on the Eighteenth-Century Stage: Gennaro Magri and His World'', by Rebecca Harris-Warrick and Bruce Alan. Brown, University of Wisconsin Press, 2005, pp. 109–149. In terms of choreography, Magri primarily created
entr'acte (or , ;Since 1932–35 the recommends this spelling, with no apostrophe, so historical, ceremonial and traditional uses (such as the 1924 René Clair film title) are still spelled . and ', , and ) means 'between the acts'. It can mean a pau ...
ballets performed between opera acts.


Choreographic works

Choreographic works are as follows: * ''Mascherata dedicata a Bacco'' (1761) * ''Mercato del pesce in Amsterdam'' (1765) * ''Ritorno di soldati piemontesi alle loro case'' (1765) * ''Arrivo de viaggiatori nella posta di Vienna'' (1765) * ''Di diversi caratteri'' (1765) * ''Di spagnoli e mori ''(1766) * ''Di zingari e scozzesi'' (1766) * ''Daglia amici di Rodrigo'' (1766) * ''Ballo di mestieri'' (1766) * ''Festa di silvano'' (1766) * ''Festa da ballo (ballo analogo)'' (1767) * ''Un bassa turco'' (1767) * ''Pantomimo tra Pulcinella, Alrecchino e Coviello'' (1767) * ''La Festa della lanterna'' (1773) * ''Pantomino con maschere: Pantalone e sua figlia, Truffaldino, Pulcinella, Flaminia'' (1774)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magri, Gennaro 18th-century Italian ballet dancers 18th-century Italian writers 18th-century Italian male writers Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 18th-century Neapolitan people Writers from the Kingdom of Naples