Rosalia Price

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

''Masson'' ( fl. 1790), also known as Rosalia Masson-Price and Madame Price, was a British

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

artist (

acrobat Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

and

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

artist). She is not to be confused with her sister-in-law Hanne Tott, also called Madame Price. She was active in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in 1787–1790. Together with her spouse, the

Peter Price (1761-1790), she founded the first circus in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, and as such has an important place in the history of the circus in Sweden and Scandinavia. Alongside Antonio Bartolomeo Spinacuta, Price are counted as one of two of all of the foreign artists during the Gustavian age who made a lasting effect on the cultural development in Sweden.

Life

Rosalia Masson was married to her colleague Peter Price from

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 ...

, with whom she had three children. Together with her brother-in-law James Price (1761-1805), they founded a circus company, where they mainly performed with acrobats and

artists by horse. After having applied for a permission to perform in Denmark without success, they were granted such a permission for Sweden, and in October 1787, they founded a circus in Stockholm. Though an individual horse acrobat, Jacob Bates, had performed in Stockholm in 1770, the Price circus was the first circus company in Sweden, and thereby the introduction of the circus in Scandinavia: her brother-in-law James and his spouse Hanne Tott was to introduce the circus in Denmark and Norway in the 1790s. The Price circus were successful in Stockholm, where Rosalia was apparently the main attraction as she was frequently mentioned first when the circus was mentioned; she focused on acrobatics on horse while Peter Price acted in pantomime and displayed his strength. They also toured the Swedish countryside. At an incident at

Comediehuset Comediehuset (The Comedy House) or Sillgateteatern (The Herring-Street Theatre) was a Swedish theatre, active in Gothenburg from 1779 until 1833. It was the first permanent Public theatre in Gothenburg and the only one until 1816. It was located a ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Rosalia Price threatened the audience with a whip and a gun when they expressed displeasure, which turned a fiasco to a success. The Price Circus left Sweden in 1790: Peter Price apparently died the same year, as Rosalia Price remarried the horse acrobat Christoph de Bach the same year and followed him to Vienna.

References

* Oscar Levertin (1918). Samlade Skrifter 17–18. Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag. ISBN * Wåhlberg, Per Arne: Cirkus i Sverige : bidrag till vårt lands kulturhistoria. Stockholm Carlsson 1992. * Johan Flodmark (1893). Stenborgska skådebanorna: bidrag till Stockholms teaterhistoria. Stockholm: Norstedt. Libris 439864 {{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Rosalia Year of birth missing Year of death missing 18th-century British artists 18th-century Swedish people British circus performers Gustavian era people British equestrians 18th-century circus performers