Amalia Ferraris (1828 in

Voghera The Castle of Voghera in a 19th-century etching. Voghera ( Vogherese dialect of Emilian: ''Vughera''; Latin: ''Forum Iulii Iriensium'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy. The population was 39,374 ...

– 8 February 1904, in

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

) was an Italian dancer. Her year of birth may have been 1828, 1830, or 1832. After studying in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, she attended the ballet school at La Scala Academy, under the direction of the Carlo Blasis; she debuted in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. Ferraris danced at the

Teatro di 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 an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent t ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

and then throughout Europe. In 1848, she joined the Theatre Royal in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and performed on the occasion of

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

. After successful performances in London (1853), Rome (1854), and Vienna (1855), Ferraris performed at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

in 1856. Together with Carolina Rosati, her artistic rival, Ferraris was one of the most notable Italian dancers of her era. In 1857, she performed with Rosati at the Paris Opera in the ballet ''Marco Spada, ou La Fille du Bandit''; it was said to have been commissioned by Napoleon III for Ferraris and Rosati, who was considered to be the most celebrated ballerinas at the time. Along with Rosati,

Giuseppina Bozzacchi Giuseppina Bozzacchi (23 November 1853 – 23 November 1870) was an Italian ballerina, noted for creating the role of Swanhilda in Léo Delibes' ballet ''Coppélia'' at the age of 16 while dancing for the Paris Opera Ballet. Bozzacchi, who was ...

, and

Fanny Cerrito Francesca "Fanny" Cerrito (11 May 1817 – 6 May 1909) was an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer. She was a ballerina noted for the brilliance, strength, and vivacity of her dancing. She was also one of few women in the 19th century to be r ...

, Ferraris was considered an Italian virtuosity, known for "bravura displays of technique". According to Lillian Moore, Ferraris "could leap like a fawn and descend like a falling leaf". In 1859 she made her debut with 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 ...

, St. Petersburg where she performed in several ballets. It was for Ferraris that the choreographer

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (russian: Мариус Иванович Петипа), born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa (11 March 1818), was a French ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters an ...

created the ''Carnaval In Venice pas de deux'' to music by

Cesare Pugni Cesare Pugni (; russian: Цезарь Пуни, Cezar' Puni; 31 May 1802 in Genoa – ) was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. In his early career he composed operas, symphonies, and various other forms of orche ...

, which the composer based on

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices f ...

's ''Il Carnevale di Venezia'' as an ode to the Italian ballerina. The pas de deux was later added to the ballet '' Satanella'' in 1866 where it acquired its more well-known title, the ''Satanella pas de deux''. This pas de deux is still performed throughout the world today.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferraris, Amalia 1828 births 1894 deaths Italian ballerinas Paris Opera Ballet étoiles 19th-century Italian ballet dancers