Philippe Taglioni
Born in Milan in 1777 and deceased in Como in 1871, the dancer, ballet master, choreographer and teacher began his career as a dancer in Italy, followed by engagements in Paris, Stockholm, Vienna and, in 1817, Munich. He was also increasingly active as a ballet master and choreographer, the most important of his Viennese ballets being The Swiss Milkmaid (1821) to music by Adalbert Gyrowetz. In 1829 he went to Paris, where he laid the foundations for romantic ballet with the nun's ballet in Meyerbeer's opera Robert le Diable (1831) and the full-length ballet La Sylphide (1832). At the Paris Opera, Taglioni subsequently also created choreographies for the operas La Juive (1835) and Les Huguenots (1836). Until the end of his career, Taglioni, who was active throughout Europe, remained the exclusive tutor of his daughter Marie, who was born in Stockholm in 1804. With La Fille du Danube (1836) to music by Adolphe Adam and L'Ombre (1839) to music by Wilhelm Ludwig Maurer, Taglioni varied the Sylphide model, which was acclaimed throughout Europe. Choreographies from later years include L'écumeur de mer (1840) for St Petersburg and Satanella (1842) and La Péri (1843) for Milan. Even after Marie Taglioni retired from the stage in 1847, Taglioni remained active as a choreographer, mostly in Russia, Germany, Austria and Poland.