CHAPTER XXVII

CARLOTTA GRISI (GISELLE)

Seldom is a good dancer also a born singer; and still more rarely do both talents develop simultaneously to such a point that there can be any serious doubt as to which to relinquish in favour of the other. Yet such was the happy fate of Carlotta Grisi, the cousin of the two famous singing sisters, Giuditta and Giulia Grisi.

Carlotta at one time showed such promise of becoming a vocalist that no less a person than the great Malibran advised her to devote her life to singing. But when Perrot, the famous ballet-master, who had received his _congé_ from the Paris Opera, saw her, when she was earning her living as a dancer at Naples, he was clever enough to suggest that she should develop _both_ talents, fully intending that under his encouragement and tuition she should become at least a finished _danseuse_, for he saw in the future of such a pupil an opportunity of securing his own return to the Opera. Moreover, although--as a famous _maîtresse de ballet_ of our time once described him to me--“ogly as sin,” he managed to become her husband!

Carlotta Grisi was born in 1821 at Visnida, in Upper Istria, in a palace built for the Emperor Francis II. When a mere child of five years old she was dancing, with other children, at the Scala, Milan, where she danced with such grace that she was nicknamed _La petite Heberlé_, a Mlle. Heberlé then being a very popular star. Subsequently she toured with a company through Italy appearing at Florence, Rome, Naples, and it was here she met and became the pupil and then wife of Perrot.

Brief visits to London, Vienna, Milan, Naples followed, the young dancer gathering fresh triumphs at each, until finally she made her Parisian _début_ at the Renaissance on February 28th, 1840. Here she appeared both as singer and dancer in “Le Zingaro,” but on the closing of the theatre she went in February, 1841, to the Opera, and achieved an instant success in “La Favorita.” From that moment her career was one of continued triumph.

In June of that year she appeared in “_Giselle, ou les Willis, ballet en deux actes, de MM. de Saint Georges, Th. Gautier et Coralli, musique de M. Adam, décors de M. Ciceri_,” as it is described on my copy of the original libretto. Carlotta’s appearance in it was _the_ artistic sensation of the Continent.

“Giselle” is founded on one of those romantic legendary themes in which Germany was once so rich, and tells of the fate of a village girl who falls a victim to the mysterious _Willis_, or spirits of betrothed girls who in life were passionately fond of dancing, who have died ere marriage, and are doomed after death to dance every night from midnight to dawn, luring whom they may to the same fate. This, and the story of shattered hope and love forlorn, which bring about poor little Giselle’s destruction, are the two leading themes of a ballet which, touching both the heights of gaiety and depths of tragedy, is rich in every element that can interest or charm, and presents many dramatic situations that demand from a supremely accomplished dancer a power of mimic expression, intensity and poetic sympathy that are rare. Carlotta Grisi was ideally equipped, and she was _par excellence_--Giselle. A revival of the second act, under the title of “les Sylphides,” was given by the Russian dancers at the Coliseum a few seasons ago.

Gautier’s admiration for Grisi was enthusiastic. “_Qu’est-ce que Giselle?_” he asked the day after the first performance, thus answering his own question: “_Giselle, c’est Carlotta Grisi, une charmante fille aux yeux bleus, au sourire fin et naïf, à la démarche alerte, une Italienne qui a l’air d’une Allemande à s’y tromper, comme l’Allemande Fanny avait l’air d’une Andalouse de Séville.... Pour la pantomime, elle a dépassé toutes les espérances. Pas un geste de convention. Pas un mouvement faux. C’est la nature prise sur le fait._”

Another of her admirers described Carlotta in the following quaint terms: “... a blonde beauty; her eyes are of a soft and lovely blue, her mouth is small, and her complexion is of a rare freshness and delicacy.... Her figure is symmetrical, for, though slight, she has not that anatomical thinness, which is so common among the _danseuses_ of the Académie Royale. Her grace is not more surprising than her aplomb. She never appears to exert herself, but can execute the most incredible _tours de force_ with a perfect tranquillity.”

Grisi’s success in London was stupendous. She appeared here at Drury Lane, and later at Her Majesty’s, for the Opera seasons. On her farewell appearance in “The Peri” (by Théophile Gautier, Coralli and Burgmüller) at the end of the season in November, 1843, the _Illustrated London News_ gave the following note:

“Carlotta Grisi took her farewell of an English audience on Saturday night (i.e. November 18th, 1843) in the popular ballet of ‘The Peri,’ when a brilliant company was present to bid adieu to their favourite dancer. On the entrance of Mdlle. Grisi, there was one unanimous burst of applause, and each movement of her graceful figure was the signal for renewed approbation. When the famous leap was given, cries of _encore_ re-echoed from every part of the house, and once again the favourite, with a spirit undaunted, leaped into the arms of the lover in the ballet. The applause continued undiminished until the fall of the curtain--then the enthusiasm became a _furore_, and the name of ‘Grisi’ was uttered by a thousand voices. She soon appeared, led on by Petipa, and in looks more expressive than words, spoke her thanks for the kindness which she has received and merited. Wreaths and bouquets were plenteously showered on the dancer, and our artist has attempted a representation of the enthusiastic scene.

“After the performances, Mr. Bunn gave an elegant supper in the grand saloon of the theatre to about seventy of his friends and patrons. The entertainment was intended as a complimentary leave-taking to Carlotta Grisi, on her quitting London to fulfil her engagements in Paris. After proposing the health of Carlotta Grisi, Mr. Bunn presented that lady with a superb bracelet of black enamel, richly ornamented with diamonds, as a slight _souvenir_ of her highly successful career at Drury Lane Theatre. Attached to the bracelet was the following inscription: ‘_Présenté à Mlle. Carlotta Grisi, la danseuse la plus poétique de l’univers, avec les hommages respectueux de son directeur A. Bunn, Théâtre Royal, Drury Lane, 18th November, 1843._’”

A contemporary enthusiast, writing of her in 1846, said: “Her name is henceforth inseparably connected with the charming and poetic creations which her own grace and beauty have immortalised: ‘Giselle,’ ‘Beatrix,’ ‘La Péri,’ have attained a celebrity equal to that of ‘La Sylphide’ and ‘La Fille du Danube,’ and the most devoted admirer of Taglioni can scarcely refuse a tribute of homage to the bewitching elegance of Carlotta Grisi. Wherever she goes, her reception is the same; if she is idolised in Paris, she is adored in London. The impression produced by her performance of ‘La Péri,’ at Drury Lane, in 1843, will not be easily forgotten, and her more recent triumph in the ‘Pas de Quatre’ is still fresh in the recollection of the _habitués_ of the Opera. Nor must we omit her last creations of Mazourka in the ‘Diable à Quatre’ and ‘Paquita.’ It is impossible to describe the fascinating _naïveté_ of her manner, the arch and lively humour of her pantomime, and the extraordinary precision and grace of her dancing!” High praise, certainly! But, evidently not exaggerated, for all contemporary accounts of Grisi are equally enthusiastic.

Carlotta’s married life was not entirely happy. She had many admirers, and her husband had a temper, and though she always kept the former at a discreet distance, the latter was not so easily managed, and after a few years of marriage, which had apparently been entered upon more as a matter of mutual interest than mutual affection, she and her husband agreed to separate. Grisi left the stage in 1857 at the climax of her success, and retired to live quietly in Switzerland, where she died only a few years ago.