Vestris, Thérèse (1726–1808)
Vestris, Thérèse (1726–1808)
French-Italian ballerina. Name variations: Therese Vestris. Born in 1726; died at age 82 in 1808; sister of Gäetan Vestris (a ballet dancer) and Angelo Vestris (a dancer).
The list of Thérèse Vestris' lovers runs half a page in Migel's The Ballerinas: counts, dukes, ministers, soldiers, ballet masters and husbands, all men of power, all once tidily recorded by the Paris secret police. At age 21, she arrived in Paris with her mother and five of her eight siblings (1747). Her father and three other siblings stayed in Italy. Gaetan, Thérèse and Angelo Vestris were soon employed with the Opera. Violante Vestris sang in concerts at court, and Jean-Baptiste Vestris became a housekeeper for the others.
With his enormous talent, Gaetan's star ascended. Thérèse, who shared his arrogance but not his talent, had an affair with the Opera's ballet master Lany and focused her competitive energy on Mlle Puvigny , who had replaced Marie-Anne Cupis de Camargo and Marie Sallé as premiere danseuse. Eventually, the directors grew tired of her scheming and forced her out. From then on, she used her skills as a courtesan; her only loyalty was to her family. Gaetan, Thérèse, and Angelo all died within a few months of each other.