Rome Opera has announced that Eleonora Abbagnato, étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet and current Director of the Rome Opera Ballet, will remain in her post until 31 December 2021.
Virginia Raggi, the city's mayor and President of the Rome Opera Theatre Foundation, said,
It is something of great pride for our city that we are able to confirm an étoile like Eleonora Abbagnato as our ballet director. It will give her the opportunity to continue the valuable work that she has been doing over the last three years with great seriousness and commitment.
Thanks to her prestige and the scope of her international experience, Eleonora Abbagnato has helped to maintain a high level of dance at the Opera House which is an excellence belonging to all of Rome's citizens.
She has focused on the young, carrying out an invaluable work with her dancers, convinced that dance needs great Italian talents, and she had demonstrated that this is something she firmly believes in.
The theatre's Intendant, Carlo Fuortes, added,
The work carried out by Miss Abbagnato in this theatre is excellent. Her professionalism and the care with which she has helped our corps de ballet to grow, and the generosity with which she has shared her experience and knowledge with the dancers and all the staff, and her vision that has inspired our joint work in the programming of the ballet season are all qualities that make me renew my confidence in her work.
I am sure that together we will continue to do an excellent job that will contribute to the growth of dance in our theatre, in Italy, and internationally.
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.
