Kurt Jooss (12 January 1901 – 22 May 1979) was a famous German ballet dancer and choreographer mixing classical ballet with theatre; he is also widely regarded as the founder of Tanztheater. Jooss is noted for establishing several dance companies, including most notably, the Folkwang Tanztheater, in Essen.
Giuseppe Adami (4 February 1878 – 12 October 1946) was an Italian librettist, playwright and music critic, he was best known for his collaboration with Giacomo Puccini on the operas La rondine (1917), Il tabarro (1918) and Turandot (1926).
Elisabeth Rethberg (née Lisbeth Sättler; 22 September 1894 – 6 June 1976) was a German operatic spinto soprano singer who was active from the period of the First World War through the early 1940s. After Richard Strauss assigned the role of the Empress in his Die Frau ohne Schatten to her at the Dresden Opera in 1919, she went on to perform as Verdi's Aida at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and La Scala in Milan, among others. She returned to Dresden often, including to appear in title role of Die ägyptische Helena in the world premiere.
Yvonne Printemps (French: [ivɔn pʁɛ̃tɑ̃]; born Yvonne Wigniolle; 25 July 1894 – 19 January 1977) was a French singer and actress who achieved stardom on stage and screen in France and internationally.
Printemps went on the stage in Paris at the age of 12, and at 21 she was singled out by the actor, director and playwright Sacha Guitry as a leading lady. In 1919 they were married, and worked closely together until 1932, when they divorced. Printemps never remarried, but had a personal and professional partnership with the actor Pierre Fresnay which lasted until his death in 1975.
As a performer, Printemps was famed for the quality of her singing voice and for her personal charm. Among those who composed for her were André Messager, Reynaldo Hahn, Noël Coward and Francis Poulenc. Her voice could have led her to an operatic career, but guided by Guitry she concentrated on operette and other types of musical show, along with non-musical plays and films. In addition to her many successes in Paris she appeared to great acclaim in the West End of London, and on Broadway in New York.
Jacques Thibaud (French pronunciation: [ʒak tibo]; 27 September 1880 – 1 September 1953) was a French violinist.
Walther Oskar Ernst Amelung (15 October 1865 – 12 September 1927) was a German classical archaeologist who was a native of Stettin. Amelung specialized in investigations of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture.
Starting in 1884 he studied at the University of Tübingen under Erwin Rohde (1845-98), and afterwards in Leipzig with Johannes Overbeck (1825-1895) and at Munich under Heinrich Brunn (1822-1894). From 1891 to 1893 he performed research of ancient sculpture during journeys throughout the Mediterranean region.
In 1895 he began work with the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) in Rome, where one of his duties was to catalog the sculpture collection of the Vatican.
During World War I, Amelung was tasked with restoration of plaster casts of classical sculptures in the museum at the University of Berlin, and after the war was in charge of reconstruction of the DAI's library in Rome. With art dealer Paul Arndt (1865-1937), he was co-editor of Photographische Einzelaufnahmen antiker Skulpturen, which was a survey of Greek and Roman sculpture. He died on 12 September 1927 in Bad Nauheim.
Jules-Joseph Perrot (18 August 1810 – 29 August 1892) was a French dancer and choreographer who later became Ballet Master of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. He created some of the most famous ballets of the 19th century including Pas de Quatre, La Esmeralda, Ondine, and Giselle with Jean Coralli.
Marcello Abbado (7 October 1926 – 4 June 2020) was an Italian pianist, composer, conductor and academic teacher. His compositions include several orchestral works, two ballets, numerous pieces for solo piano, and chamber music. As a pianist, he played in major concert halls of the world. He taught composition at several conservatories, ultimately at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory. In 1989 he was awarded the gold medal for Meritorious Culture and Art (Medaglia d'oro ai benemeriti della cultura e dell'arte) by the Government of Italy.
Stefano Benni (born 12 August 1947) is an Italian satirical writer, poet and journalist. His books have been translated into around 20 foreign languages and scored notable commercial success. 2.5 million copies of his books have been sold in Italy.
Salvatore Accardo (Italian pronunciation: [salvaˈtoːre akˈkardo]; Knight Grand Cross born 26 September 1941 in Turin, northern Italy) is an Italian violinist and conductor, who is known for his interpretations of the works of Niccolò Paganini.
Accardo owns one Stradivarius violin, the "Hart ex Francescatti" (1727) and had the "Firebird ex Saint-Exupéry" (1718).