Sofia Fuoco (16 January 1830,

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 ...

, the

Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia ( la, links=no, Regnum Langobardiae et Venetiae), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" ( it, links=no, Regno Lombardo-Veneto, german: links=no, Königreich Lombardo-Venetien), was a constituent land ...

— 16 June 1916,

Carate Urio Carate Urio (Comasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northeast of Como. Founded in 1927 by the merger of Carate Lario and Urio, Carate Urio border ...

, the Province of Como) — Italian ballerina. Was born as Maria Brambilla; her stage name, ''Fuoco'' (the mother's family name, given because there was more than one "Maria Brambilla" at the dance school) means ″Fire″ in Italian.

Biography

Brambilla was born in Milan. She began to study ballet with Carlo Blasis in c. 1837 and later became one of his so-called ''Pleiades dancers''. In 1839 at age of nine she made her first stage appearance in the Teatro alla Scala. In 1843 when she was only thirteen she was named the ''

prima ballerina assoluta ''Prima ballerina assoluta'' is a title awarded to the most notable of female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a ''prima ballerina assoluta'' is a rare honour, traditionally reserved only for the most exceptional dancers of their generatio ...

'' of the theater. Same year she was the first one who danced '' Giselle'' in Milan. In 1846 she danced in Perrot's ''

Pas de Quatre ''Grand Pas de Quatre'' is a ''ballet divertissement'' choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at Her Majesty's Theatre, to music composed by Cesare Pugni. On the night it premiered in London (12 Ju ...

'' staged in La Scala by

Filippo Taglioni Filippo Taglioni (aka Philippe Taglioni; 5 November 1777 – 11 February 1871) was an Italian dancer and choreographer and personal teacher to his own daughter, Romantic ballerina Marie Taglioni. (He had another child who also danced ballet, ...

. In 1846, age sixteen, she was invited to the Paris National Theatre to replace

Carlotta Grisi Carlotta Grisi (born Caronne Adele Josephine Marie Grisi; 28 June 1819 – 20 May 1899) was an Italian ballet dancer. Born in Visinada, Istria (present-day Vižinada, Croatia). Although her parents were not involved in the theatre, she was broug ...

. Choreographer

Joseph Mazilier Joseph Mazilier (1 March 1801 in Marseilles – 19 May 1868 in Paris) was a 19th-century French dancer, balletmaster and choreographer. He was born as ''Giulio Mazarini''. He was most noted for his ballets '' Paquita'' (1844) and '' Le Corsaire ...

was going to stage his new ballet ''

Betty Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beat ...

'' with Grisi however the ballerina had signed a contract with the Roman Apollo Theater. Parisian press started to discuss amazing technique and

pirouette In dance and gymnastics, a turn is a rotation of the body about the vertical axis. It is usually a complete rotation of the body, although quarter (90°) and half (180°) turns are possible for some types of turns. Multiple, consecutive turns are ...

s of Fuoco before her first performance at the

Salle Le Peletier The Salle Le Peletier or Lepeletier (sometimes referred to as the Salle de la rue Le Peletier or the Opéra Le Peletier) was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and con ...

. She impressed audiences rather with her strong ballet technique than with acting. Due to her amazing pointe work she was nicknamed ''La Pointue'' in Paris. According to

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

''her feet were flying off the floor like steel arrows''. Fuoco was a soloist of the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

till 1850. In 1847–1848 she performed in London. In the beginning of 1850s she was a principal dancer of Madrid's ''

Teatro del Circo Teatro may refer to: * Theatre * Teatro (band) Teatro, Italian for "theatre", is a vocal group signed to the Sony BMG music label. The members of Teatro are Jeremiah James, Andrew Alexander, Simon Bailey and Stephen Rahman-Hughes. Band member ...

''. Here she has a rivaling with

Marie Guy-Stéphan Marie-Antoinette Guy-Stéphan (18 November 1818 - 20 August 1873) was a French dancer who triumphed at Spanish theaters between 1843 and 1851. Richard Ford, travel writer, arrived in Spain in 1830 and wrote about the rivalry between Guy-Stéphan ...

, a favourite of Marquis de Salamanca. When Fuoco became a favorite dancer of general Narvaez theatrical rivalry turned into a political one. The supporters of Marquis de Salamanca (and those of Guy-Stéphan) demonstrated their notion by wearing white carnation flowers in the buttonhole, those who preferred the government (and Fuoco) were wearing red ones, while the ladies had been coiffed ''à la Fuoco''. In 1852 she was dancing at the

Teatro Argentina The Teatro Argentina (directly translating to "Theatre Argentina") is an opera house and theatre located in Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. One of the oldest theatres in Rome, it was constructed in 1731 and inaugurated on 31 J ...

in Rome. She had retired by the end of the 1850s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuoco, Sofia Italian ballerinas 19th-century Italian ballet dancers La Scala Theatre Ballet dancers Paris Opera Ballet étoiles 1830 births 1916 deaths