The quest for beauty is as old as humankind. Everyday ugliness and tedium, along with clashes of civilisations, are often shown to be powerless to hold back the genius of those who dare to risk new paths. Even if anguish, the result of incomprehension, is the price to be paid. Or perhaps it is precisely there that we nd the key to understanding the mystery of great artistic creation. Despite recognising that these feats often do not come in synchrony with the tastes of the day, we are always indebted to those who did things di erently and better, rewriting the canon in the areas in which they express themselves. This was the case with composer and cellist Jacques O enbach (1819-1880), pianist and composer Clara Schumann (1819-1896) and ballerina Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991).
Born Jakob Eberst into a Jewish family in the German city of Cologne, O enbach was given an early musical education by his father, a cantor at the local synagogue. By the age of 12, he was already an exceptional cellist. He then made his way to Paris to continue his studies. He felt at home there, to such an extent that he Frenchi ed his name to Jacques. He adopted the surname O enbach in tribute to the homeland of his ancestors. Identifying himself with the bohemian frivolity of the age, the composer was part of the meteoric rise of the operetta, a lighter, more humorous version of opera. HisOrpheus of the Underworld, from 1858, contributed a great deal to this, and was linked to the popularisation of the can-can. He came to despise this achievement by the end of his life, believing he had squandered his talent on lesser works, while nursing an obsession to compose a serious opera. But The Tales of Ho man was only premièred ve months after his death. Born the same year as Offenbach, but in Leipzig, and also indebted to musical tuition from an early age, through her father, Clara Schumann would always live in the shadow of her surname. Married at the age of 21 to the composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856), with whom she had eight children, she trod an arduous path to make her name as a pianist and composer. On top of her family obligations, she frequently saw her talent overshadowed by the neurotic, depressive spirit of Robert, who ended up dying in a mental asylum. After 14 years of marriage, Clara was able to support herself by giving recitals and piano lessons. Her widowhood allowed her to develop her artistic career, including the concerts she loved so much. As well as composing, one of her best known works being Scherzo in C minor, Op. 14 (1845), she continued to perform pieces by her husband and by Brahms, who was a close friend.
Another special relationship was that of Margot Fonteyn with Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993), with whom she danced Giselle, on 21 February 1962, at the Russian ballet dancer’s glorious première at the Royal ballet. This would be the start of a highly acclaimed partnership on the stage, at a point when Margot was already a gure of international renown and thinking about stepping out of the spotlight after decades of artistic success. In 1935, when she was 16, she entered Vic-Wells Ballet School, later renamed the Royal Ballet, and never stopped distinguishing herself with the quality of her performances. In 1955, she danced Sleeping Beauty on the Ed Sullivan Show. Not that this should cause surprise, bearing in mind that, back in 1936, in London, the ballerina had performed on an experimental television broadcast. In 1979, she was awarded the distinction of prima ballerina assoluta, in recognition of her exceptional career.
Samuel Alemão
