Unseen photos: Carla Fracci, Maya Plisetskaya and Natalia Bessmertnova
When the Bolshoi Ballet visited Milan in 1970, Italian ballerina Carla Fracci, with Teatro alla Scala’s director Antonio Ghiringhelli, went to the airport to welcome the company.
Here she is, with her son Francesco Menegatti, together with Russian ballet stars Maya Plisetskaya and Natalia Bessmertnova, in two previously unpublished photos.
Carla Fracci greets Maya Plisetskaya while Antonio Ghiringhelli looks on:
Natalia Bessmertnova watches as Maya Plisetskaya holds Carla Fracci’s baby Francesco:
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.
