Frank Sinatra famously retired in 1970 only to make a comeback three years later, after which he continued to sing into the '90s.
Former Royal Ballet Principal Zenaida Yanowsky is making a faster comeback than Ol' Blue Eyes.
After 23 years with The Royal Ballet, Zenaida Yanowsky gave her final curtain call on the Covent Garden stage in June of this year. Her final performance at the Royal Opera House was in Marguerite and Armand with Roberto Bolle. Yet at the end of this month she will return to the Royal Opera House to perform in three performances of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: 27 September, 9 October and 23 October 2017.
Well, it is ‘her' role. Christopher Wheeldon created the role on her in 2011 and Yanowsky will be back with other members of the original cast: Lauren Cuthbertson as Alice, Edward Watson as the White Rabbit and Steven McRae as the Mad Hatter. The original Jack/Knave of Hearts, Sergei Polunin, will certainly not be reprising his role, and Federico Bonelli will dance the part.
The final of these performances – and the final-final curtain call for Zenaida Yanowsky? – will be relayed live in cinemas on 23 October 2017.
Many performances are already sold out, but ticket availability and full casting is available on the site of The Royal Opera House.
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.
