Antonio Rinaldi

Who is Antonio Rinaldi?

Antonio Rinaldi, also known as Fossano, Fusano, and Fossan, was an Italian choreographer who worked in Russia. He was a native of Naples, Italy.

In 1733, Rinaldi worked at the San Samuele Theater in Venice. In 1734, he moved to work in London, but returned to Italy in 1735, where he established an operatic dance troupe. In 1736, Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna invited his troupe to perform in Saint Petersburg; Rinaldi accepted the invitation. In Russia, his troupe staged Force of Love and Hatred, an opera by Francesco Araja. Later, Rinaldi has staged other comedy dancing divertissements.

At the time, the leading ballet personality in St. Petersburg was Jean-Baptiste Landé, who in 1738 organized the first Russian professional ballet school and became its first teacher. Landé and Rinaldi saw each other as rivals.

In 1738, Rinaldi left Russia and returned to Parma, Italy. There he taught Barbara Campanini, known as La Barberina, a famous Italian ballerina and one of the most important ballet dancers of the 18th century.

In 1740, Rinaldi accepted another invitation to come and work in Russia; he arrived to St. Petersburg in 1740 or 1742.