Giovanna Bassi
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Giovanna Bassi (1762 – 1834) was an Italian ballerina who spent the majority of her career in Sweden. She was the sister of the architect Carlo Francesco Bassi (1772-1840), who was active in Sweden and Finland.
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[edit] Biography
Giovanna Bassi was born in Italy and debuted on the stage in Paris, France. In 1783 she was employed at the Royal Swedish Ballet in the Royal Swedish Opera in Sweden, where she was to spend the rest of her career, and where her brother had lived since the age of ten.
She is mentioned with in the diary of Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp and was the prima donna of the Gustavian ballet in the 1780s. Her technique was entirely according to the classic Italian style of ballet, and she was capable of performing the hardest movements within this style, being the star of the ballets of Gustav III of Sweden. At her debut in Stockholm, the applause was loud enough "to outdo the thunder".
She was described as a proud person with a "noble" manner and admired for her beautiful, black hair and her strong, limber body. Among her parts were Cecile in La Rosiere de Salency by Jean Marcadet with Antoine Bournonville, Judith Christina Brelin and Jean Marcadet, Ninette a la Tour av M. Gardel in the 1786-1787 season, and Nadine in Le Triomphe de la Constance by Jean Marcadet with Giuseppe Bartolomei, Antoine Bournonville, Jean Marcadet and Carlo Caspare Simone Uttini 1787-1788.
Bassi had a daughter, presumed to be fathered by Adolf Fredrik Munck, which was said to have a strong resemblance to Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, who was rumoured to be the son of Munck.
In 1794, Bassi married the manor owner P. H. Schön and made her last performance in De två Savojarderna (The Two Savoyards).
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[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
- Österberg, Carin et al., Svenska kvinnor: föregångare, nyskapare. Lund: Signum 1990. (ISBN 91-87896-03-6)
- Kungliga teaterns repertoar 1773-1973"
