Massimo Murru on Roland Petit: he was a great s*****o!

ByGramilano Reading Time: 3 minutes
Roland Petit, Carla Fracci and Massimo Murru rehearsing the ballet Chéri
, and rehearsing the ballet Chéri

We tend to gloss over the negative aspects of colleagues who are no longer with us, and are usually discreet about their shortcomings when they are still alive. It is left to the gutter press to dig up unsavoury titbits. However ballet dancer Massimo Murru bucked the trend and gave a very frank opinion of choreographer Roland Petit in a radio interview last week.

Roland Petit was a great stronzo!

Translate that as “piece of shit” or “asshole” according to your mood.

Murru, one of ‘s favourite partners, was being interviewed on Italy’s RadioDanza when he was asked about those he felt indebted to for helping further his career:

Elisabetta Terrabust, Carla Fracci, Roland Petit, even if it was… er, difficult. It was not something you expect from a classical dancer, it was appalling. Roland Petit was a great stronzo… if you’ll excuse the expression… to whom I owe a great deal; for better or for worse.

The interviewer, evidently surprised at his frankness, tried to smooth things over. Maybe Petit sometimes hurt someone for a good reason?

Or bad! I can say that Roland Petit was a great choreographer but on a human level he was harsh.

Murru’s not the only dancer to speak frankly (and probably take the flak for it). Carla Fracci had balletomanes clucking their disapproval when she dared mention that often went cruising in a famous public park in Milan after a performance, even if she concluded by saying that, even so, he was always at the barre on time the next morning. Everyone knew, but no one – and certainly not the world’s most famous  – spoke about it to journalists.

teatro dell'opera protestaWhile knowing such things hardly changes our view of watching a Petit ballet, they can help illuminate the creative mind and process. Petit and Nureyev didn’t spend all their time gazing at prints of Taglioni and listening to Tchaikovsky just as Fracci isn’t made of tulle and satin, as she famously proved when she publicly attacked the mayor of Rome. The general public were amazed; her colleagues were not.

Murru has his secrets too, but he just might be the type who will let them out before others do it for him.

 

* Petit composed many works for Massimo Murru including Chéri with Carla Fracci, Bolero, Le Lac des Cygnes et ses malefices (Swan Lake and its Evil Spells), and the solo Les Feuilles mortes.

Les Feuilles Mortes - Massimo Murru
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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.

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