Giovanni Galzerani (c. 1789 - after 1853) was an Italian
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
,
ballet dancer
A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...
, and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
who was active in major theatres throughout Italy from 1808 to 1853. He was born in
Porto Azzurro
Porto Azzurro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany; it is on the island of Elba, located about southwest of Florence and about south of Livorno. It was formerly called Porto Longone, and in 155 ...
on the
Isle of Elba and began his education in
Gaeta
Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples.
The town has played a consp ...
where his father was the military commandant at the time. At his father's wish he enrolled in the
Collegio della Nunziatella in
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 ...
to train for a military career, remaining there until the age of 17. While at the college, he also studied ballroom dancing with Ferdinando Gioia, the brother of the celebrated dancer and choreographer
Gaetano Gioia, and became one of his best pupils. After his father's death in 1806, Galzerani abandoned preparations for a military career and dedicated himself entirely to the ballet, first as a dancer and then as a choreographer.
[Staccioli, Roberto (1998)]
"Galzerani, Giovanni"
''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani
The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' ( en, Biographical Dictionary of the Italians) is a biographical dictionary published by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1925 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biograp ...
'', Volume 51. Retrieved online 18 December 2013 . He also composed the music for some of his ballets, such as ''Il pericolo'' which premiered in 1818 at the
Teatro Regio 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 ...
.
Ballets
Ballets devised and choreographed by Galzerani include:
*''Il pericolo'', Giovanni Galzerani (composer), premiered
Teatro Regio, Turin, 26 December 1818
*''Niobe ossia La vendetta di Latona'',
Giovanni Pacini
Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fami ...
(composer), premiered Teatro Regio, Turin, 26 December 1818
*''Ero e Leandro'',
Luigi Maria Viviani (composer), premiered Teatro Regio, Turin, 7 December 1823
*''La conquista del Perù'', Luigi Maria Viviani (composer), premiered
Teatro Comunale, Bologna, 1 May 1824
*''L'eroe peruviano'', Luigi Maria Viviani (composer) premiered
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...
, Venice, 26 December 1824
*''Virginia'', Luigi Maria Viviani (composer), premiered La Fenice, Venice, 8 February 1825
References
External links
Il corsaro azione mimica di Giovanni Galzerani 1845 publication, digitized by
BYU
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...
on archive.org
1780s births
19th-century deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death unknown
Italian choreographers
19th-century Italian composers
Italian male composers
Italian male ballet dancers
19th-century Italian ballet dancers
Nunziatella Military School alumni
{{ballet-bio-stub