# List of historical ballet characters

This is a list of historical figures who have been characters in ballets.

## List of historical figures

* A
* B
* C
* D
* E
* F
* G
* H
* I
* J
* K
* L
* M
* N
* O
* P
* Q
* R
* S
* T
* U
* V
* W
* X
* Y
* Z

### A

Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author
* Lera Auerbach: The Little Mermaid (as the Poet)
Anna Anderson, impostor of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
* Ballet to music by Bohuslav Martinů, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Anastasia
Andrew II of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Alexander Glazunov: Raymonda

### B

Bahram V, King of Persia
* Gara Garayev: Seven Beauties
Giovanni Boldini, Italian genre and portrait painter
* Lorenzo Ferrero: Franca Florio, regina di Palermo
William H. Bonney (Billy the Kid), frontier outlaw in the American Old West
* Aaron Copland: Billy the Kid
Lizzie Borden, American woman who was acquitted for murder
* Morton Gould: Fall River Legend

### C

Marie Anne de Cupis de Camargo, French/Belgian dancer
* Ludwig Minkus: Camargo
Caravaggio, Italian Baroque painter
* Ballet to music by Bruno Moretti based on Claudio Monteverdi: Caravaggio
Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway, the wife of Christian VII of Denmark
* Peter Maxwell Davies: Caroline Mathilde
Fanny Cerrito, Italian ballet dancer and choreographer
* Ballet to music by John Field: Pas des Déesses
Cleopatra, last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt
* Anton Arensky et al.: Cleopatra
Marcus Licinius Crassus, Roman general and politician
* Aram Khachaturian: Spartacus
Cyrano de Bergerac, French dramatist
* Marius Constant: Cyrano de Bergerac

### D

Hugh Despenser the Younger, royal chamberlain and a favourite of Edward II of England
* John McCabe: Edward II
Sergei Diaghilev, Russian art critic, ballet impresario, and founder of the Ballets Russes
* Ballet to music by Chopin, Schumann, Rimsky-Korsakow and Shostakovich: Nijinsky
* Ballet to a collage of existing music arranged by Bob Zimmerman: Nijinsky – Dancer, Clown, God
Charles Didelot, French dancer and choreographer
* Ballet to music by William Boyce, arranged by Constant Lambert: The Prospect Before Us
Isadora Duncan, American dancer
* Richard Rodney Bennett: Isadora

### E

Edward II of England, King of England
* John McCabe: Edward II
Edward III of England, King of England
* John McCabe: Edward II
Caroline Alice Elgar, English author
* Ballet to music by Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
Edward Elgar, English composer
* Ballet to music by Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Empress consort of Austria
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Elizabeth I of England, Queen of England and Ireland
* Ballet to music by Anton Webern: Episodes

### F

Franca Florio, Italian noblewoman, socialite and a prominent protagonist of the Belle Époque
* Lorenzo Ferrero: Franca Florio, regina di Palermo
Ignazio Florio Jr., Italian entrepreneur
* Lorenzo Ferrero: Franca Florio, regina di Palermo
Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans
* Paul Hindemith: Nobilissima Visione
Franz Joseph I of Austria, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling

### G

Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall, English nobleman
* John McCabe: Edward II
Archduchess Gisela of Austria, second daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Lucile Grahn, Danish ballerina
* Ballet to music by John Field: Pas des Déesses
Alfred Grünfeld, court pianist of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling

### H

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, Lord High Admiral of Scotland and 3rd husband of Mary, Queen of Scotland
* Ballet to music by Anton Webern: Episodes
Herodias, a princess of the Herodian Dynasty
* Paul Hindemith: Hérodiade
E. T. A. Hoffmann, German Romantic author
* Ballet to music by Jacques Offenbach: Tales of Hoffmann

### I

Isabella of France, Queen of England as the wife of Edward II
* John McCabe: Edward II
Ivan the Terrible, Tsar of Russia
* Ballet to music by Sergei Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible

### J

August Jaeger, Anglo-German music publisher
* Ballet to music by Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
Jiang Qing, Chinese figure, 4th wife of Mao Zedong
* John Adams: The Chairman Dances (as Chiang Ch'ing)

### K

Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter
* Peter Salem: Broken Wings
Mathilde Kschessinska, Russian prima ballerina
* Ballet to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Bohuslav Martinů: Anastasia
Andrey Kurbsky, Russian figure, political opponent of Ivan the Terrible
* Ballet to music by Sergei Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible

### L

Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich, niece of Empress Elisabeth of Austria
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Louis XVI of France, King of France
* Boris Asafyev: Flames of Paris
Princess Louise of Belgium, wife of Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling

### M

La Malinche, Aztec mistress of Hernán Cortés
* Norman Lloyd: La Malinche
Mao Zedong, Chinese leader
* John Adams: The Chairman Dances
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France and Navarre
* Boris Asafyev: Flames of Paris
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria, third daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Mary, Queen of Scots, Queen of Scotland
* Ballet to music by Anton Webern: Episodes
Léonide Massine, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer
* Ballet to music by Chopin, Schumann, Rimsky-Korsakow and Shostakovich: Nijinsky
George "Bay" Middleton, English horseman
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, English nobleman
* John McCabe: Edward II

### N

Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer
* Ballet to music by Pierre Henry and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Nijinsky, clown de Dieu
* Ballet to music by Johann Sebastian Bach: Vaslav
* Ballet to music by Chopin, Schumann, Rimsky-Korsakow and Shostakovich: Nijinsky
* Ballet to a collage of existing music arranged by Bob Zimmerman: Nijinsky – Dancer, Clown, God
Jean-Georges Noverre, French dancer and ballet master
* Ballet to music by William Boyce, arranged by Constant Lambert: The Prospect Before Us

### P

Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer
* Ballet to music by Sergei Rachmaninoff: Paganini
Denis Papin, French physicist, mathematician and inventor
* Romualdo Marenco: Excelsior
Philippa of Hainault, Queen of England as the wife of King Edward III
* John McCabe: Edward II
Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling

### R

Jacques Renaudin (Valentin le désossé), French can-can dancer
* Ballet to music by Emmanuel Chabrier: Bar aux Folies-Bergère
Arthur Rimbaud, French poet
* Ballet to music by Benjamin Britten: Illuminations
Diego Rivera, Mexican painter
* Peter Salem: Broken Wings
Anastasia Romanovna, Tsaritsa consort, first wife of Ivan the Terrible
* Ballet to music by Sergei Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible
Salvator Rosa, Italian Baroque painter, poet, and printmaker
* Cesare Pugni: Catarina or La Fille du Bandit
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, Crown Prince of Austria
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling

### S

Arthur Saint-Léon, French dancer and choreographer
* Ballet to music by John Field: Pas des Déesses
Katharina Schratt, Austrian actress
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Clara Schumann, German musician
* Ballet to music by Robert Schumann: Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze
Robert Schumann, German composer
* Ballet to music by Robert Schumann: Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze
George Robertson Sinclair, English cathedral organist
* Ballet to music by Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Spartacus, Thracian gladiator
* Aram Khachaturian: Spartacus
Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, Crown Princess of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, King consort of Scotland
* Ballet to music by Anton Webern: Episodes

### T

Eduard Taaffe, 11th Viscount Taaffe, Austrian statesman
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
Marie Taglioni, Italian/Swedish ballet dancer
* Ballet to music by John Field: Pas des Déesses
Tancred, Prince of Galilee, Norman Crusade leader
* Ballet to music by Raffaello de Banfield: Le combat

### V

Baroness Mary Vetsera, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria's mistress
* Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling
François Villon, French poet
* Robert Starer: Villon
Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist
* Romualdo Marenco: Excelsior

### W

Louise Weber (La Goulue), French can-can dancer
* Ballet to music by Emmanuel Chabrier: Bar aux Folies-Bergère

### Z

George Zorbas , Greek miner
* Ballet to music by Mikis Theodorakis: Zorba the Greek (ballet)