Born in
Paris, Duport studied dance under
Jean-François Coulon and began his career on the
Boulevards and at the
Ambigu-Comique. He then made his debut at the
Opéra de Paris in 1800, quickly becoming its
premier danseur, with rivalries with
Auguste Vestris as a dancer and with
Pierre Gardel as a choreographer. He unilaterally broke his contract in 1808 and left Paris for
Saint Petersburg, via
Vienna. At the
Mariinsky Theatre, he danced in the ballets by
Charles-Louis Didelot, in January 1812 he danced in
Warsaw, before being made the head of a theatre in
Naples and returning to Vienna as professor and director at the
Theater am Kärntnertor. In 1824, he allowed
Beethoven to premiere his Ninth Symphony. After the very successful first performance which took place on 7 May, Duport offered a second performance on 24 May where he suggested to Beethoven’s secretary
Anton Schindler that one of the parts of Beethoven’s
Missa solemnis be switched out to a desirable
Rossini aria. From June to November 1837, he stayed in Warsaw with his Viennese student, prima ballerina Helene Schanzowsky, married name Grekowska. == Later Life and Death ==