Emma Amalia Virginia Palladino (1861–13 April 1922) was an Italian ballet dancer who for seven years was the prima ballerina at the

Alhambra Theatre The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...

in London where she danced to the ballet music of the theatre's resident composer and conductor

Georges Jacobi Georges Jacobi (3 February 1840 –13 September 1906) was a German violinist, composer and conductor who was musical director of the Alhambra Theatre in London from 1872 to 1898. His best-known work was probably ''The Black Crook'' (1872) writt ...

Early life

Born in 1861 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 ...

in Italy the daughter of Andrea Palladini, a dancer at the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

who chose to change his surname.Ivor Guest, ''Ballet in Leicester Square'', Dance Books, (1992) pg. 52 She trained at

La Scala Theatre Ballet The La Scala Theatre Ballet ( it, Corpo di ballo del Teatro alla Scala) is the resident classical ballet company at La Scala in Milan, Italy. One of the oldest and most renowned ballet companies in the world, the company pre-dates the theatre, bu ...

in Milan and from 1873 to 1876 danced in the same theatre, first as a pupil of the school in choreography by Antonio Pallerini including ''Le due twelle'' (1873), ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' (1873) and in Ferdinando Pratesi's ''La temptation'' (1874) before taking on larger roles.Biography of Emma Palladino - Dizionario-Biografico
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Dancing career

In 1877 she moved to the United States where she made her début in New York in Offenbach's operetta ''

Le voyage dans la lune ''A Trip to the Moon'' (french: Le Voyage dans la Lune) is a 1902 French adventure short film directed by Georges Méliès. Inspired by a wide variety of sources, including Jules Verne's 1865 novel ''From the Earth to the Moon'' and its 1870 ...

'' while in 1878 she performed in the ballet '' Le papillon'', staged by the Mapleson Opera Troupe in New York City. In the late 1870s she returned to Europe and settled in London where she built a brilliant career as "a petite and fascinating, graceful dancer". She performed at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...

in 1879 and at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

from 1881 to 1887 where she danced in opera ballet. For seven years Palladino was the prima ballerina at the

in London under the baton of

in a ballet choreographed by the Italian Carlo Coppi. After making her début in ''Endymion'' she played, among others, the title roles in ''Nina'' (1885) and ''Nadia'' (1887) by Joseph Hansen. From 1888 to 1893 she danced at the

Empire Theatre of Varieties The Empire, Leicester Square is a cinema currently operated by Cineworld on the north side of Leicester Square, London. The Empire was originally built in 1884 as a variety theatre and was rebuilt for films in the 1920s. It is one of several ...

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

where she danced in

Katti Lanner Katti Lanner (14 September 1829 – 15 November 1908) was a Viennese ballet dancer, choreographer, and ballet mistress who found fame in Germany and England, where she staged many productions at the Empire Theatre in London. Early life in Aus ...

's ''Diana'' (1888), a performance which earned her the nickname "the Complete Palladino"; ''A Dream of Wealth'' (1889), ''Dolly'' (1890), ''Nisita'' (1891), and ''By the Sea'' (1891).

Later years

In the summer seasons of 1889 and 1890 Palladino performed at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

as the principal dancer in some operatic repertoire titles, while in 1895 she interpreted ''Pastoralea'' to choreography by

Léon Espinosa Léon Espinosa (1825–1904) was a Dutch-Spanish ballet dancer. He became the first in a long line of dancers and dance teachers, making the name Espinosa "recognised worldwide as one of the most important influences in the development of dance and ...

at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. In 1894 she attempted to launch a singing career - with modest results - at the Manchester Palace of Varieties. She also worked in Paris in the newly built

Éden-Théâtre The Éden-Théâtre was a large theatre (4,000 seats) in the rue Boudreau, Paris, built at the beginning of the 1880s by the architects William Klein and Albert Duclos (1842–1896) in a style influenced by orientalism. It was demolished in 189 ...

, in Moscow and St. Petersburg during a tour with the

company in 1886, in Berlin and finally in Munich, as well as in Italy. In 1899 she played in ''Messalina'' by Luigi Danesi and in ''Rodope'' by Raffaele Grassi. She married bookkeeper Arthur Roger Carter in London in 1901. Emma Palladino retired in 1899 and died in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

in London in 1922. In her will she left £3,405 15s 10d to her husband.Emma Amalia Virginia Carter in the England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995
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Ancestry.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palladino, Emma 1861 births 1922 deaths La Scala Theatre Ballet dancers Italian ballerinas 19th-century Italian ballet dancers 20th-century British ballet dancers