Maria Charlotta Westberg (3 February 1853 – 4 December 1893), was a Swedish ballerina. Westberg was born in Stockholm to the litographer Peter Magnus Westberg and Hedvig Maria Lönnqvist. She was a student dancer of the

Royal Swedish Ballet The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian dominance in this fi ...

in 1860, a premier student dancer in 1867, and a second dancer in 1870-1872. She was engaged at the Royal Danish Ballet in 1872-1890, where she enjoyed a successful career as a Premier solo dancer in 1875-1890. Westberg was engaged at the Royal Danish Ballet on request of

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nep ...

. Bournonville was searching for someone who could be able to replace his retiring primadonna Betty Schnell, and noticed Westberg during his guest performance at Royal Swedish Ballet in Sweden in 1871. Maria Westberg was a star of the Royal Danish Ballet during the 1870s and 1880s, when she performed the female main part of a number of ballet performances. She made a successful debut as a guest dancer in Copenhagen in the title role of «Sylfiden» 6 September 1871. On 1 July 1875, she was made solo dancer and from this point on performed almost all female main parts in the ballet performances of the Royal Danish Ballet and had "in practice a position as a primadonna". Among her parts were Astrid in «Valdemar», Svava in «Valkyrjen», Hilda in «Et Folkesagn», Kirsti in «Brudefærden i Hardanger», Nathalie in «Fra Sibirien til Moskov», Teresina in «Napoli», Rosita in «Fjærnt fra Danmark», Celeste in «Toreadoren» and the title role of «Aditi». She was described: :"In lack of mimic talent, Miss W. made herself noted on stage by her slender figure, her pure look and her blonde beauty; she had her own rare femininity, which displayed more of the correctness of a Lady than the passion of the Nordic Maiden, and too cold to suit the roles of Southern heroines or courtesans." She suffered from a weak health, which became worse due to her physical work as a dancer. She retired from her career after performing the part of ''Svava'' in

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's Valkyrie and as ''Nathalie'' in

's ''Fra Sibirien til Moskov''.Svenskt porträttgalleri / XXI. Tonkonstnärer och sceniska artister (biografier af Adolf Lindgren & Nils Personne)
/ref> After her retirement she settled in her native city of Stockholm, where she died.

References

* ttps://runeberg.org/dbl/18/0439.html Dansk biografisk Lexikon / XVIII. Bind. Ubbe - Wimpffen {{DEFAULTSORT:Westberg, Maria 1850s births Swedish ballerinas 1893 deaths 19th-century Swedish ballet dancers Royal Danish Ballet dancers