Charles Bernardy
Encyclopedia
Charles-Alexandre Bernard (17 May 1724, Antwerp - 15 June 1807, rue de Vaugirard
, Paris
), known as Charles Bernardy, was a dancer, choreographer and dancing master
.
He criss-crossed the Southern Netherlands
, the Netherlands
, the principality of Liège and France
continuously for 40 years. From October 1752 until Palm Sunday
1753, Bernardy and his wife directed the theatre at Ghent
, where she had already dancing in the preceding season (in Prince of Orange
's troop). The Prince of Orange's troop was at The Hague
in May 1753, but Charles Bernardy does not seem to have followed them there. In 1755, he was one of the lead dancers of the Theater am Kärntnertor
at Vienna
, under the direction of the choreographer Franz Hilverding
. Ribou and Baptiste, actors from Ghent and Brussels
, had already moved to that theatre and would surely have sung Bernardy's praises to its intendant comte Durazzo
. Bernardy remained there for several seasons and there met dancers such as Antoine Pitrot
and the future choreographer Gasparo Angiolini
. In 1759 he put on ballets such as Les Turcs and Les Perruquiers there.
Called to Brussels as ballet-master for the 1763-1764 season, Bernardy put on the ballet Rhœcus ou les Hamadryades at the Théâtre de la Monnaie
, premiering on 29 May 1763. A month later, he composed Circé ou la Délivrance des compagnons d'Ulysse.
Next, he danced in London
in 1764 and 1765, led his troop to Amiens
, Arras
and Calais
, then returned to Ghent
in autumn 1766. From 1767 to 1774, he directed the theatre in Liège
, then in Spa
and then in Maastricht
.
In 1775, he gathered a children's troop, directing them at Antwerp and Rotterdam
under the name of the "Brabantsche Kinderen" (The Brabant
Children). From 1775 to 1780, the troop put on shows at Amiens
, Cambrai
, Strasbourg
, Colmar
, Paris
(at the "théâtre des Petits Comédiens du Bois de Boulogne"), Angers
, Le Mans
, Aix-en-Provence
, Toulon
, Marseille
, Dijon
, Passy
, Saint-Quentin
, Antwerp and Brussels
.
Bernardy finally settled down at Liège
, from there directing the theatres at Spa, Maastricht
, Ghent
, Bruges
and Ostend
. He gave up the direction of these theatres from 1793 and installed himself in Paris
with his granddaughter, mademoiselle Fleury
, actress in the Comédie-Française
.
Rue de Vaugirard
Rue de Vaugirard is the longest road in Paris, at 4.3 km. It spans the 6th and 15th arrondissements.-Location:Rue de Vaugirard is mostly a one-way street from the Latin Quarter towards the edge of Paris . Traffic flows in both directions between Rue de Rennes and the Place de l'Odéon...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
), known as Charles Bernardy, was a dancer, choreographer and dancing master
Dancing master
Dancing master may refer to:* The Dancing Master, a dance manual, first published by John Playford in 1651* Dancing master, an early term for a dance teacher, or perhaps a choreographer...
.
He criss-crossed the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the principality of Liège and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
continuously for 40 years. From October 1752 until Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
1753, Bernardy and his wife directed the theatre at Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, where she had already dancing in the preceding season (in Prince of Orange
William V, Prince of Orange
William V , Prince of Orange-Nassau was the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, and between 1795 and 1806 he led the Government of the Dutch Republic in Exile in London. He was succeeded by his son William I...
's troop). The Prince of Orange's troop was at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
in May 1753, but Charles Bernardy does not seem to have followed them there. In 1755, he was one of the lead dancers of the Theater am Kärntnertor
Theater am Kärntnertor
Theater am Kärntnertor or Kärntnertortheater was a prestigious theatre in Vienna during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries...
at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, under the direction of the choreographer Franz Hilverding
Franz Hilverding
Franz Anton Christoph Hilverding , aka Hilferding, was an Austrian choreographer and dancer who first adapted Miguel Cervantes's novel Don Quixote for ballet. It was first staged in Vienna, Austria in 1740....
. Ribou and Baptiste, actors from Ghent and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, had already moved to that theatre and would surely have sung Bernardy's praises to its intendant comte Durazzo
Giacomo Durazzo
Count Giacomo Durazzo was an Italian diplomat and man of the theatre. He was born into one of the most important aristocratic families in Genoa. His brother was the famous doge Marcellino Durazzo. In 1749, he became ambassador to the court in Vienna where he was appointed director of the imperial...
. Bernardy remained there for several seasons and there met dancers such as Antoine Pitrot
Antoine Pitrot
Antoine-Bonaventure Pitrot , known as Pitrot aîné , was a French dancer, choreographer and ballet master...
and the future choreographer Gasparo Angiolini
Gasparo Angiolini
Gasparo Angiolini , real name Domenico Maria Angiolo Gasparini, was an Italian dancer and choreographer, and composer. He was born in Florence and died in Milan....
. In 1759 he put on ballets such as Les Turcs and Les Perruquiers there.
Called to Brussels as ballet-master for the 1763-1764 season, Bernardy put on the ballet Rhœcus ou les Hamadryades at the Théâtre de la Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
, premiering on 29 May 1763. A month later, he composed Circé ou la Délivrance des compagnons d'Ulysse.
Next, he danced in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1764 and 1765, led his troop to Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
, Arras
Arras
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...
and Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, then returned to Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
in autumn 1766. From 1767 to 1774, he directed the theatre in Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
, then in Spa
Spa, Belgium
Spa is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liège. It is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountain chain, some southeast of Liège, and southwest of Aachen. As of 1 January 2006, Spa had a total population of 10,543...
and then in Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
.
In 1775, he gathered a children's troop, directing them at Antwerp and Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
under the name of the "Brabantsche Kinderen" (The Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
Children). From 1775 to 1780, the troop put on shows at Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
, Cambrai
Cambrai
Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
, Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Colmar
Colmar
Colmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is the capital of the department. Colmar is also the seat of the highest jurisdiction in Alsace, the appellate court....
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(at the "théâtre des Petits Comédiens du Bois de Boulogne"), Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
, Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
, Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
, Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
, Passy
Passy
Passy is an area of Paris, France, located in the XVIe arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.Passy was formerly a commune...
, Saint-Quentin
Saint-Quentin, Aisne
Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....
, Antwerp and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
.
Bernardy finally settled down at Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
, from there directing the theatres at Spa, Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
, Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
and Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
. He gave up the direction of these theatres from 1793 and installed himself in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
with his granddaughter, mademoiselle Fleury
Mademoiselle Fleury
Marie-Anne-Florence Bernardy-Nones , known as Mademoiselle Fleury , was a Belgian actress...
, actress in the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
.