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Marie Miller (dancer)

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Madame Gardel
Born
Marie Miller

8 April 1770
Auxonne, France
Died18 April 1833 (aged 63)
Paris, France
Nationality France
Other namesMademoiselle Miller
Madame Gardel
Occupation(s)Dancer
Years active1789-1816
SpousePierre Gardel

Marie Miller (8 April 1770 – 18 April 1833), or Marie-Élisabeth-Anne Houbert,[1] known professionally as Mlle Miller and later Madame Gardel, was an 18th century French ballet dancer at the Opéra de Paris and the wife of Pierre Gardel.

Early life

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Marie-Elisabeth-Anne Houbert was born on 8 April 1770 in Auxonne, France.[2] Marie's father was a musician in the Royal Artillery Corps (French: Corps Royal de l'Artillerie) and died when she was a young girl.[3]

Entertainment life

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Her mother's second husband, Jean-Gaspard Krasinski, nicknamed "Miller", was a Polish composer and flautist who had a large impact on Marie's life.[2] The composer's connections with notable choreographers, established upon his move to Paris, greatly contributed to advancing his daughter-in-law's future.[4] In 1782, Marie joined the dance school of the Théâtre des Beaujolais to learn the art of stage dancing.[5]

In Antonio Sacchini's opera Dardanus, Mademoiselle Miller made her debut in front of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette at the Château de Fontainebleau on 20 and 27 October 1785.[4] On 13 January 1786, the young ballerina performed in its premiere at the Académie Royale de Musique (known as Paris Opéra).[2][6] By April 1786, Marie, at the age of 16, was being paid 1,500 livres, with an additional gratuity of the same amount.[4]

Not long after, she appeared in Maximilien Gardel's Le Déserteur with music composed by her stepfather and first performed on 21 October 1786.[2] French dancer and choreographer Pierre Gardel had assumed the role of ballet master at the Opéra after his brother Maximilien in the late 1780s.[7] When Pierre, the young ballet master at the Opéra, agreed to mentor Marie, she gratefully adopted her father-in-law's nickname as her stage name. It was only upon marriage at 25 that she ceased to use the name "Mlle Miller" on stage.[4]

Marie quickly earned the rank of première danseuse before the French Revolution.[8] Shortly afterward, the dancer succeeded Marie-Madeleine Guimard, who retired around 1789.[2]

In Gardel's 1790 ballet Télémaque dans l'île de Calypso with music composed by her stepfather, Mlle Miller was cast as "Eucharis", Armand Vestris as "Télémaque", and Clotilde as "Calypso".[9] That same year, she was cast in one of the earliest full-length ballets by the Opéra's ballet master titled Psyché.[7] The young Houbert performed in the title role of "Psyché" in its premiere at the Opéra on 14 December 1790.[10]

In 1793, Mlle Miller visited King's Theatre in London for a guest performance.[5]

Back in Paris, Marie married Pierre Gardel on 24 December 1795, becoming his second wife and muse.[4][11] After his first wife, Anne Jacqueline Coulon, passed away, the widow decided to remarry.[3] Following her marriage to Pierre, now known on stage by Madame Gardel (or Mme Gardel), she was active as a principal dancer at the Opéra de Paris, alongside Mlle Chevigny.[12] She continued to perform in all of Pierre's ballet compositions.[13]

In Gardel's 1802 Paul et Virginie, she played a notable role as "Virginie".[14] She was cast in Le triomphe du mois de Mars, ou le Berceau d'Achille on 27 March 1811. Mme Gardel appeared as "August (Aout)" with Albert (June) and Mlle Bigottini (July).[15]

In 1816, Mme Gardel concluded a stage career that spanned nearly thirty years.[8] A pension of 4000 francs was awarded to the retired dancer in recognition of her services.[4]

Death

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Marie Gardel died on 18 April 1833 in Paris, France.[16] Her husband Pierre lived until 1840.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Phillips, L. B. (1871). “The” Dictionary of Biographical Reference: Containing One Hundred Thousand Names Together with a Classed Index of the Biographical Literature of Europe and America. United Kingdom: Sampson Low, Son & Marston.
  2. ^ a b c d e Biographie Universelle, Ancienne Et Moderne: Ou, Histoire, Par Ordre Alphabétique, de la Vie Publique Et Privée de Tous Les Hommes Qui Se Sont Fait Remarquer Par Leurs Écrits, Leurs Actions, Leurs Talents, Leurs Vertus Ou Leurs Crimes. (1856). France: A. T. Desplaces.
  3. ^ a b Highfill, P. H., Burnim, K. A., Langhans, E. A. (1978). A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Volume 5, Eagan to Garrett: Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers, and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800. United States: Southern Illinois University Press.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Amanton, C. N. (1835). Galerie auxonnaise: ou, Revue générale des auxonnais dignes de mémoire; comprenant la réimpression des biographies de Maillard du Mesle, intendant des îles de France et de Bourbon, et de Madame Gardel, première danseuse de l'Académie royale de musique. France: X.-T. Sauni.
  5. ^ a b MGG Online. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.mgg-online.com/article?id=mgg16689&v=1.0&rs=mgg16689
  6. ^ Dardanus : tragedie en trois actes : représentée devant Leurs Majestés à Fontainebleau, le 20 octobre 178[3] et a Paris, sur le Théatre de l’Académie-Royale de Musique, le vendredi 13 janvier 1786. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/2010663574/
  7. ^ a b Chazin-Bennahum, J. (1988). Dance in the shadow of the guillotine. United States: Southern Illinois University Press.
  8. ^ a b Tomko, L. J. (1998). Proceedings Society of Dance History Scholars. United States: Society of Dance History Scholars.
  9. ^ La Revue de Paris. (1914). (n.p.): La Revue de Paris.
  10. ^ Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1829). (Académie Rle de Musique). Mme. Gardel. (Rôle de Psyché). Ballet de Psyche. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/d47f6640-a950-0131-bee3-58d385a7b928
  11. ^ The Library of Congress. (n.d.). Gardel, Marie-Elisabeth-Anne Houbert, 1770-1833 - LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies | Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n97858352.html
  12. ^ La grande encyclopédie: inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts par une Société de savants et de gens de lettres. (1885). France: Société anonyme de la Grande encyclopédie.
  13. ^ Over 9000 Thousand! (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/magazine/350-years/jean-georges-noverre-1727-1810/pierre-gardel-1758-1840
  14. ^ Kreutzer, R., Gardel, P. G. (1806). Paul et Virginie. France: Ballard.
  15. ^ MERCIER-DUPATY, L. E. F. C. (1811). Le Triomphe du Mois de Mars, ou le Berceau d'Achille, opéra-ballet, tableau allégorique, à l'occasion de la naissance de S. M. le Roi de Rome, etc. France: (n.p.).
  16. ^ Pitou, Spire. “Miller, Mlle.” In (Ed.), The Paris Opéra: An encyclopedia of operas, ballets, composers, and performers (2016–). Article first published 1985. Retrieved from https://rme.rilm.org/rme/stable/526464
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