The stars will come out in Rome tonight – Cipriani ballet gala

Repeating the success of last year’s ballet gala, Daniele Cipriani once again presents a Les Étoiles evening in Rome. Tonight and tomorrow night – 23 and 24 January – there is the opportunity to catch some of the world’s brightest stars at the Auditorium Conciliazione, just around the corner from the Vatican.

The Royal Ballet’s Marianela Nuñez and Thiago Soares will perform the Black Swan pas de deux and the Grand Pas from Diamonds, the third act of George Balanchine’s Jewels. Lucia Lacarra and Marlon Dino from the Bavarian State Opera Ballet will present the White Swan, together with what is rapidly becoming their signature piece, Gerald Arpino’s bewitching Light Rain, with which they scored a huge success during the closing gala for the Milan Expo last year.

Berlin State Ballet’s Iana Salenko is Kitri for Don Quixote with American Ballet Theatre’s Daniil Simkin, and then joins her husband and fellow Principal in Berlin, Marian Walter, for Le Corsaire. Simkin will also dance Ben Van Cauwenbergh’s Les Bourgeois, his party-piece and a guaranteed showstopper.

La Scala’s Claudio Coviello will join the new star of the Rome Opera Ballet, Rebecca Bianchi, for Giselle and also the balcony scene from Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet.

If you’re in or near Rome this weekend, you can see the gala on Saturday 23^rd at 9pm, and Sunday 24^th at 5pm.

Tickets can be booked online www.ticketone.it or via the Ticket One call centre 892 101.

Gramilano Editor

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.