Yvette Chauviré had entered the Opera's school as a small child, and it was Serge Lifar who imposed her: there she was, an étoile in 1941, aged twenty-four, under the Occupation. Her line, her carriage of the arms and that way of suspending time on an arabesque earned her the name of la divine. In 1950 the Opera gave her a title borne by no other Frenchwoman since. Generations of étoiles worked on Giselle with her.
The story
Yvette Chauviré was born in Paris on 22 April 1917 and entered the Opéra's ballet school as a child. Serge Lifar noticed her and pushed her forward: she was named étoile in 1941, at twenty-four, in the middle of the Occupation.
She danced “Giselle” as nobody else did — the role stayed attached to her — and created Lifar's great ballets. Her line, her carriage of the arms, a way of holding time still on an arabesque earned her the name of ‘la divine’.
In 1950 the Paris Opera gave her the title of Prima Ballerina Assoluta, a distinction so rare that she remains the only Frenchwoman ever to hold it. She was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1964, Commandeur in 1988, Grand Officier in 2010, at ninety-three.
She married the painter and ballet designer Constantin Nepo, who died in 1976, and went on teaching and coaching long after she left the stage: several generations of French étoiles worked Giselle with her.
She died in Paris on 19 October 2016, at ninety-nine, and lies in Division 44 — the Division of Yves Montand and Simone Signoret. A postage stamp had been given to her in 1974.
The grave
A marble medallion and, below it, a bronze bas-relief in which a palm accompanies a cross of the Légion d'honneur. The inscription fits in three lines and says nothing of the life, only of the rank: “Yvette CHAUVIRE, 1917-2016, Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur, Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Paris Opera”. The name is engraved there without its final accent, as on several stones in the cemetery. The title, for its part, was borne by no other French dancer.
On site, do not miss
The inscription and its title in three Latin words — “Prima Ballerina Assoluta” — beneath a name engraved without its final accent.
Visitors' questions
Where is Yvette Chauviré's grave?
In Division 44, on the path that separates Divisions 44 and 91, first row. It is the division of Yves Montand and Simone Signoret; a marble medallion marks the dancer's grave.
Yves Montand and Simone SignoretWhat is a Prima Ballerina Assoluta?
The highest distinction in classical ballet, above the rank of étoile. The Paris Opera conferred it on Yvette Chauviré in 1950: she remained the only French dancer ever to hold it, and the inscription on her grave records the fact.
Hélène AndrianoffWhat was her most famous role?
Giselle, which stayed with her all her life and which she passed on to several generations of étoiles as a teacher and coach. Named étoile in 1941 by Serge Lifar, she was known as “la divine”.
Isadora DuncanHow old was she when she died?
Ninety-nine: born on 22 April 1917, she died on 19 October 2016. She had been made a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1963 and had married the painter and set designer Constantin Népo, who died in 1976.
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