Antonietta Dell'Era (10 February 1860 Milan — 22 June 1945 Berlin) was an Italian prima ballerina best known for originating the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Tchaikovsky's ballet, The Nutcracker (1892).[1][2]

Antonietta Dell'Era
Born(1860-02-10)10 February 1860
Milan, Italy
Died(1945-06-22)22 June 1945
Berlin, Germany

Dance career

Antonietta Dell'Era as part of the Berlin Ballet, 1880

Between 1879 and 1909, Dell'Era had a successful career at the Berlin Opera,[3] receiving praise from many critics and writers including author and poet Theodor Fontane.[4] Between 1886 and 1894, she danced in Russia, mainly in St. Petersburg, as an export of the "Italian Invasion" - an influx of talented Italian dancers to Russia that included Pierina Legnani,[5] Enrico Cecchetti, and Virginia Zucchi.[6][7]

The Nutcracker

In 1894, Dell'Era created the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, a new ballet conceived by mastermind choreographer Marius Petipa[4] and composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky.[8] The ballet premièred at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on December 17, 1892, as a double feature alongside Tchaikovsky's last opera, Iolanta; tickets to the première were sold out.[4][9][1] Dell'Era reportedly received five curtain calls, but critical reception of the ballet was poor.[8][1] Russian ballet dancer Nicolai Solyannikov was unimpressed by Dell'Era's performance: "this coarse, ungraceful dancer is much to the German taste".[9] The influence of politics and current affairs on the evolution of ballet is well-documented, and during Dell'Era‘s time as a leading ballerina in Russia, dancers were influenced by the rise of expressionism and increasing opposition to the rigidity of classic ballet;[3] she had in fact received better critical reception for her role as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty.[9]

Legacy

Before her death in 1945, Dell'Era had expressed a wish that her estate should help dancers in need. The Dell'Era-Gedächtnis-Stiftung foundation was established after her death to provide dancers and their families with financial assistance towards living costs and expenses, such as medical costs, training and retraining.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pritchard, Jane (January 2001). "Antoinette Dell'Era : the first Sugar Plum Fairy". Dancing Times. 3: 337, 339, 341. OCLC 49577215.
  2. ↑ Whitehill, Angela, 1938- (1990). The young professional's book of ballet. Noble, William. Pennington, NJ: Princeton Book Co. ISBN 0871271478. OCLC 22382029.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 Homans, Jennifer. (2011). Apollos angels: a history of ballet. London: Granta. ISBN 9781862079502. OCLC 696852557.
  4. 1 2 3 The encyclopedia of dance & ballet. Clarke, Mary, 1923-2015,, Vaughan, David, 1924-2017. New York. 1977. ISBN 0399119558. OCLC 3410721.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ↑ Scholl, Tim, 1962- (1994). From Petipa to Balanchine : classical revival and the modernization of ballet. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415092221. OCLC 28182142.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ "DELL'ERA, Antonietta in "Dizionario Biografico"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  7. ↑ Kassing, Gayle. (2007). History of dance : an interactive arts approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. ISBN 9780736060356. OCLC 70660004.
  8. 1 2 Bedinghaus, Treva (2 April 2017). "History of the Nutcracker Ballet". Liveabout. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Wiley, Roland John (1997-03-06). The life and ballets of Lev Ivanov : choreographer of The nutcracker and Swan lake. Oxford [England]. p. 144. ISBN 9780191657597. OCLC 880878305.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ↑ "Dell'Era-Gedächtnis-Stiftung". Staatsballett Berlin. Retrieved 24 October 2019.

Further reading

  • Panwitz, Sebastian (2012). Antonietta Dell'Era (1861-1945). Primaballerina Berlins zur Zeit des Kaiserreichs. Berlin: Staatsballett Berlin.
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