Salvatore Viganò (March 25, 1769 – August 10, 1821) was an Italian choreographer,

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

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 def ...

. Viganò was born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. He studied composition with Luigi Boccherini (his uncle) and by the mid-1780s was composing original music. He produced early dance compositions in Bordeaux and Vienna. In 1788, he appeared as a dancer on the stage in Venice. He performed in the coronation festivities of Charles IV of Spain in 1789. He became a pupil of the French dancer and choreographer Jean Dauberval. In 1791, he and his wife achieved success as a dancing team in Venice, where he choreographed his first ballet, ''Raoul de Créqui''. He was ballet master in Vienna and collaborated with

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

on the ballet '' The Creatures of Prometheus''. He returned to Italy in 1804 and became the ballet master of ''La Scala'' ballet school in Milan. He is considered the father of a new kind of performance called "" where the pantomime served the dance and the ensembles were very significant. He died in Milan. Viganò's elder sister, Vincenza Viganò-Mombelli was also a dancer and the librettist of Rossini's first opera '' Demetrio e Polibio''.Gillio, Pier Giuseppe (2011)
"Mombelli, Domenico"
'' Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', Vol. 75. Online version retrieved 9 May 2018 .

Major works

* ''La vedova scoperta'', 1783 (opera) * '' The Creatures of Prometheus '', 1801 (music

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

) * ''Coriolano'', 1804 (music Joseph Weigl) * ''Gli Strelizzi'', 1809 (various artists) * ', 1812, La Scala (music Franz Xaver Süssmayr) * ''Il Prometeo'', pantomime ballet, 1813 (music Beethoven,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, Haydn, Viganò) * ''Numa Pompilio'', 1815 * ''Mirra'', 1817 *''Otello'', 1818 (various artists, among the others

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

, Paolo Brambilla and Michele Carafa) * ''Dedalo'', 1818 *''La Vestale'', 1818 (various artists) *''I Titani'', 1819 (music Johann Caspar Aiblinger and Viganò) *''Giovanna d'Arco'' 1821 * ''Didone'', 1821 (finished by Vigano's brother, Giulio as Salvatore died before completing it)

References

Italian choreographers 18th-century Italian ballet dancers Ballet librettists Italian Classical-period composers Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers Composers from Naples 1769 births 1821 deaths 19th-century Italian ballet dancers Italian male ballet dancers Musicians from the Kingdom of Naples {{dance-bio-stub