Solange Schwarz (1910–2000) was a French

ballerina 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 ...

who trained at the

Paris Opera Ballet School 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 ...

. After gaining the rank of danseuse étoile at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

in 1932, she was the first female dancer to earn the official étoile distinction at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

in 1940 for performing the leading role in

Serge Lifar Serge Lifar ( ua, Сергій Михайлович Лифар, ''Serhіy Mуkhailovуch Lуfar'') ( 15 December 1986) was a Ukrainian ballet dancer and choreographer, famous as one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century. No ...

's premiere of ''Entre deux rondes''. From 1945, she performed with the and with the companies created by the

Marquis de Cuevas Jorge Cuevas Bartholín, known as George de Cuevas (1885 – 22 February 1961), was a Chilean-born ballet impresario and choreographer who was best known for the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas that he formed in 1944. Life and career Cueva ...

. After retiring from the stage in 1957, she taught dance for over 20 years at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

Early life and family

Born in Paris on 12 November 1910, Solange Schwarz was the daughter of the ballet dancer and teacher Jean Schwarz and his wife Eugénie née Nibert. Her aunt Jeanne Schwarz was a star dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet and her sisters Nelly, Janine and Christiane also danced there. It was therefore no surprise that she became a pupil at the Opera Ballet School.

Career

Schwarz joined the Opera Ballet in 1930 but left for the

Opéra Comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

in 1937 where she immediately became an étoile, performing in ''

Le Lac des cygnes ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', ''La Rosière du village'', ''

Reflets ''Reflets'' is the second album by the French singer Shy'm, following 2006 ''Mes fantaisies''. A more mature album than Shy'm's début, ''Reflets'' experimented more with electronic music. The album was released in September 2008 and débuted at # ...

'' and

Marcel Delannoy Marcel-François-Georges Delannoy (9 July 1898 – 14 September 1962) was a French composer and critic.Hoérrée A. Marcel Delannoy. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. He wrote operas, ballets, orchest ...

's ''La Pantoufle de vair''. She returned to the Paris Opera in 1937 where in 1940 she became the first female dancer to be officially named an étoile after partnering Serge Lifar in his ''Entre deux rondes''. While with the Opera Ballet, she also performed in Lifar's '' Bacchus et Ariane'' (1931), ''Alexandre le Grand'' (1937), ''Le Chevalier et la Demoiselle'' (1941) and ''

Suite en Blanc ''Suite en Blanc'', later retitled ''Noir et Blanc'', is a ballet choreographed by Serge Lifar to music from Édouard Lalo's ballet '' Namouna''. The first performance, by the Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet comp ...

'' (1943). After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, together with Lifar she left the Opera to perform with the Ballets des Champs-Élysées, the Opéra-Comique (1949–51) and the companies founded by the Marquis de Cuevas. One of her most successful roles was Swanhilda in ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...

'', which she performed for the last time at the Paris Opera the night of her retirement from the stage in 1957. Thereafter, she taught dance for over 20 years at the

. Solange Schwarz died at

Ramatuelle Ramatuelle (; Provençal: ''Ramatuela'') is a commune in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2016, it had a population of 2,077. History Ramatuelle lies near St-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime and Gassi ...

in the Var department on 24 April 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Solange 1910 births 2000 deaths French ballerinas Ballet teachers Paris Opera Ballet étoiles