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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
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[[File:Alessandro_Guerra_(1838).jpg|right|350px]]
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[[File:Circus_Salamonsky_Moscow.jpg|right|450px]]
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===ALESSANDRO GUERRA===
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===THE CIRCUS ON TSVETNOY BOULEVARD===
  
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The Italian equestrian Alessandro Guerra is one of the most important figures of the 19th century equestrian circus. A remarkable horseman whose vigorous, aggressive style (as well as his fiery temper) won him the nickname of "Il Furioso," he was also a versatile performer, a gifted circus director, a pioneer who managed a very talented company and traveled with it far and wide all over Europe with enough success to catch attention and leave his mark wherever he went.
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Circus buildings with a long history have something magical. They seem haunted by the protective ghosts of the great star performers who, over the years, have graced their ring. The world’s oldest extant circus building, Paris’s Cirque d’Hiver, where Jules Léotard originated the flying trapeze in 1859, is one of them. The glorious Circus Ciniselli in St. Petersburg, Russia’s oldest circus, is another one. And in Moscow, there is Circus Nikulin—"the Old Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard."
  
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He was born in 1782 in the historic town of Rimini, on the Adriatic coast, in what was then the Papal States, at the southern end of the Emilia-Romagna region. His parents were Mauro Guerra and Clementina, née Bordini. His family’s origins are not known, but beside his striking equestrian talents, Alessandro was a multi-talented artist: acrobat, juggler, musician, and actor in pantomimes—which leads us to believe that he came from a stock of traveling entertainers, although this is just an assumption; his brother, Rodolfo Guerra, a talented equestrian in his own right, would hold a significant part in his future company.
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The Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard: Three distinct circus buildings, actually, have been known under that name. The three buildings have occupied the exact same place, 13 Tsvetnoy Boulevard, with no longer interruption than the time needed for their reconstruction. Yet, for the Muscovites, they have been one and the same—their circus, just wearing different coats.
  
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Guerra had been a pupil of the celebrated Italian equestrian and circus pioneer Luigi Guillaume, in whose company (the ''Gran Circo Olympico'') he performed, touring the rich Italian "circuits" of theaters, open-air arenas, and ''politeamas''—these polyvalent theaters that served as circuses as well as theaters. Then he joined Christoph de Bach's company, at Vienna's Circus Gymnasticus in 1815, where the local press first singled out Alessandro Guerra as an exceptional trick-rider: By 1817, he was a major star of de Bach’s company. On May 17, 1818, at age thirty-six, Alessandro married nineteen years old Adelheid Elisa de Bach (Adelaïde, 1798-1832), Christoph de Bach’s daughter from his first wife, Rosalia, née Masson (1755-1820).  
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Before the Soviet revolution, Russian circus history was principally written in St. Petersburg, the Russian Empire’s capital, and began when the French equestrian Jacques Tourniaire built the ''Cirque Olympique'', Russia’s first circus, in 1827 near the Fontanka canal, on the spot where Circus Ciniselli (which is extant) would be erected half a century later. Tourniaire had performed in Moscow in 1826, but this was in the private manège of the Pashkov House, which today houses the Russian State Library—with its magnificent manège refurbished as its main reading room.
  
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Besides Vienna, de Bach’s company had a great reputation in the German and Italian states, which they visited regularly. The circus season in Vienna began traditionally on Easter Monday and lasted generally six months. The company traveled extensively the rest of the year: In 1826, for instance, they appeared in Naples, Rome, Florence, Genes, Turin, Milan, Venice, Innsbruck, Munich, Augsburg, Nuremberg, Frankfurt-am-Main, Darmstadt, Stuttgart, and Prague.  
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Moscow’s first circus was a wooden structure erected in the Niskuchnye Gardens in 1830, which lasted three summer seasons. The second circus, [[Laura Bassin]]’s, was built in 1853 and lasted only two seasons. The third was the circus the Austrian-Hungarian equestrian Carl Magnus Hinné had built in 1869 as the Moscow branch of his St. Petersburg flagship circus; it would remain active, under various managements, until 1896.  Then, in 1880, Albert Salamonsky (1839-1913), a brilliant German equestrian and director, built a brand new circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard.
  
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That same year, during the 1826 season at the Circus Gymnasticus, a Viennese newspaper wrote about Alessandro Guerra: "He stands quite freely on one foot on an unsaddled horse, not running at a canter as usual, but at full gallop, in various positions, playing the guitar with as much ease as if he were sitting leisurely in an armchair." The breakneck speed at which he presented his exercises, notably his remarkable juggling on horseback, was one of his characteristics—one which helped him earn his now-famous nickname, ''Il Furioso'' ("The furious").... ([[Alessandro Guerra|more...]])
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Hinné had hired Salamonsky in 1869 to perform with his horses and his company in the Austrian-Hungarian director’s new building in Moscow. Salamonsky, who was an accomplished high school rider, and an outstanding trainer of "liberty" acts, had obtained a considerable success with Hinné, and he began afterward to tour regularly in Russia. In 1879, he built a circus in Odessa, but a shrewd businessman, he knew that the place to make real money was Moscow—the Empire’s wealthy merchant center—where Hinné’s circus, which was mostly harboring foreign touring companies, had no true identity of its own..... ([[Circus Nikulin|more...]])
  
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
 
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Revision as of 22:35, 31 August 2024


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Circopedia was originally inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

Circus Salamonsky Moscow.jpg

THE CIRCUS ON TSVETNOY BOULEVARD

Circus buildings with a long history have something magical. They seem haunted by the protective ghosts of the great star performers who, over the years, have graced their ring. The world’s oldest extant circus building, Paris’s Cirque d’Hiver, where Jules Léotard originated the flying trapezeAerial act in which an acrobat is propelled from a trapeze to a catcher, or to another trapeze. (See also: Short-distance Flying Trapeze) in 1859, is one of them. The glorious Circus Ciniselli in St. Petersburg, Russia’s oldest circus, is another one. And in Moscow, there is Circus Nikulin—"the Old Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard."

The Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard: Three distinct circus buildings, actually, have been known under that name. The three buildings have occupied the exact same place, 13 Tsvetnoy Boulevard, with no longer interruption than the time needed for their reconstruction. Yet, for the Muscovites, they have been one and the same—their circus, just wearing different coats.

Before the Soviet revolution, Russian circus history was principally written in St. Petersburg, the Russian Empire’s capital, and began when the French equestrian Jacques Tourniaire built the Cirque Olympique, Russia’s first circus, in 1827 near the Fontanka canal, on the spot where Circus Ciniselli (which is extant) would be erected half a century later. Tourniaire had performed in Moscow in 1826, but this was in the private manège of the Pashkov House, which today houses the Russian State Library—with its magnificent manège refurbished as its main reading room.

Moscow’s first circus was a wooden structure erected in the Niskuchnye Gardens in 1830, which lasted three summer seasons. The second circus, Laura Bassin’s, was built in 1853 and lasted only two seasons. The third was the circus the Austrian-Hungarian equestrian Carl Magnus Hinné had built in 1869 as the Moscow branch of his St. Petersburg flagship circus; it would remain active, under various managements, until 1896. Then, in 1880, Albert Salamonsky (1839-1913), a brilliant German equestrian and director, built a brand new circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard.

Hinné had hired Salamonsky in 1869 to perform with his horses and his company in the Austrian-Hungarian director’s new building in Moscow. Salamonsky, who was an accomplished high schoolA display of equestrian dressage by a rider mounting a horse and leading it into classic moves and steps. (From the French: Haute école) rider, and an outstanding trainer of "liberty"Liberty act", "Horses at liberty": Unmounted horses presented from the center of the ring by an equestrian directing his charges with his voice, body movements, and signals from a ''chambrière'' (French), or long whip." acts, had obtained a considerable success with Hinné, and he began afterward to tour regularly in Russia. In 1879, he built a circus in Odessa, but a shrewd businessman, he knew that the place to make real money was Moscow—the Empire’s wealthy merchant center—where Hinné’s circus, which was mostly harboring foreign touring companies, had no true identity of its own..... (more...)

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A Message from the Founder

CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly—and sometimes daily—basis. Keep visiting us: even if today you don't find what you're looking for, it may well be here tomorrow! And if you are a serious circus scholar and spot a factual or historical inaccuracy, do not hesitate to contact us: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.

Dominique Jando
Founder and Curator
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