Émilie Bigottini (16 April 1784, in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

– 28 April 1858, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was a French dancer of Italian ancestry. The daughter of Francesco Bigottini, a famous

harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...

Comédie-Italienne Comédie-Italienne or Théâtre-Italien are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France. The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were commedia dell'arte companies employed b ...

, she joined the

Opéra This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

ballet at age 17 and led its company until her retirement in 1823, distinguishing herself in the

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s of

Louis Milon Louis-Jacques-Jessé Milon (18 April 1766 – 26 November 1849)Life dates are according to Babsky 1998, p. 422, who also says that there is some uncertainty: he may have been born in 1765 or 1769, and may have died in 1845. was a French ballet danc ...

Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

was one of her fervent admirers. Despite her numerous liaisons, she escaped the reputation for immorality which afflicted most of her contemporaries in the dance world. She was considered as an example of good artistic taste, svelte, precise and excelling in mime. She had several children, all out of wedlock: * a daughter with

Gérard Christophe Michel Duroc Gérard (French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constitue ...

, duke of Frioul; * a daughter, Armandine Alphonsine Pignatelli d'Aragon Bigottini, born in Paris on April 10, 1807. The child's father, the prince Pignatelli, eventually recognized her. Armandine married

Alphonse Daloz Alphonse may refer to: * Alphonse (given name) * Alphonse (surname) * Alphonse Atoll, one of two atolls in the Seychelles' Alphonse Group See also *Alphons *Alfonso (disambiguation) Alfonso (and variants Alphonso, Afonso, Alphons, and Alphonse) i ...

in 1827, and had two children; she died in Créteil on August 11, 1833. * a son, François Jean Charles, born in Paris on August 27, 1815.Archives de Paris The child was conceived during the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

and his father presumed to be an Austrian count. (Bigottini had accompanied Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord to Vienna in 1814.)

Sources

* Félix-Bouvier, ''Une danseuse de l'Opéra, la Bigottini'' (Paris, Noël Charavay, 1909).

References

1784 births 1858 deaths French female dancers French people of Italian descent Entertainers from Toulouse Bigottini 19th-century French ballet dancers {{Ballet-bio-stub