Unseen photos: one month after the death of Richard Cragun we publish photos of his Swan Lake at La Scala with Carla Fracci
In 1974 at Milan‘s Teatro alla Scala the 37-year-old Carla Fracci danced a series of 20 performances of John Field’s Swan Lake with three different partners: Rudolf Nureyev, Roberto Fascilla and Richard Cragun.
Cragun, who died last month at 67, was the star of the Stuttgart Ballet company, and he charmed the Milanese audience with his noble bearing and physical beauty.
A true prince.
Photos: Carla Fracci and Richard Cragun in Swan Lake, Teatro alla Scala 1974 – collection of Carlo Orlandi
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 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.
