Roland Petit: 1924 – 2011
Roland Petit with his wife Zizi Jeanmaire after a performance of Carmen
New York, October 1949
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
Did you draw this picture from a program? If so, could you make a copy (scan) and send it to me? Particularly the page that lists the orchestra, if any. Mom says that Dad was in the orchestra for Petit’s Carmen in NY.
Mom had a program when she was a kid, but the mice in her parents’ attic got to her playbill collection.
Those mice!
I’m afraid I don’t have the program. This was a photo I found on the internet and cleaned up a bit. I loved the fact that it was such an honest photo, but I suspect the programme was typical of the time with only a few low-resolution grainy photos. Sorry I can’t help you.
PS What a lucky Dad!