Rome Opera Ballet to visit Paris, Dubai, Barcelona and Liège in tours beginning this month
Paris in April, Dubai in May, Barcelona in July and Liège in November – these are the four destinations that the Rome Opera Ballet will reach on its international tours scheduled for 2024.
The company, directed by Eleonora Abbagnato, will make its first stop in Paris where Abbagnato was an étoile with the Paris Opera Ballet, the first Italian dancer to be promoted to that role.
For her return to the city, at the Palais des Congrès, Abbagnato will dance with Friedemann Vogel and the company, in clothes designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri of Christian Dior Couture (Les deux nuits 26, 27 and 28 April).
Subsequent destinations mark three world premieres for Rome’s opera house: at the Dubai Opera (Les deux nuits 25 and 26 May), at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona (Swan Lake 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 July) and at the Opéra Royal De Wallonie in Liège (Giselle 14, 15, 16 and 17 November).
It is no coincidence that I have appointed Eleonora Abbagnato as president of the Upper Council of the Performing Arts – said the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano – I appreciate her value and extraordinary artistic ability. The tours that are about to be undertaken by the Opera di Roma underline the prestige of our opera houses. I’m sure they’ll be a great success.
The tour begins with Les deux nuits, a double bill that couples Angelin Preljocaj’s Nuit Romaine together with Giorgio Mancini’s Nuit Dansée (a world premiere). The programme, with a contemporary feel, is suited for the two modern stages where is will be seen: the Grand Amphithéâtre of the Palais des Congrès in Paris (where in 2023 the company saw full houses in the 3700-spectator venue) and that of the Dubai Opera.
The five performances at the Gran Teatre del Liceu show Swan Lake in a version created by Benjamin Pech in 2018, with sets and costumes by Aldo Buti. Tchaikovsky’s score will be performed by the Orquesta del Gran Teatre del Liceu conducted by Koen Kessels.
The last tour sees the debut of the company at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège where Carla Fracci‘s 2004 version of Giselle, with costumes and sets by Anna Anni, will be performed. The company took the ballet to Oman last year.
The Mayor of Rome and President of the Opera House board, Roberto Gualtieri, said:
I am proud of how the ballet company of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, under Eleonora Abbagnato, has reached a level of excellence on the world scene. Dance is also poetry, capable of providing emotions by speaking without words and offering beauty to the spectator through the harmony and elegance of gestures. The excellence of the corps de ballet of Rome Opera is not only an encounter with art but a great opportunity to encourage new talents. And these new international tours are a further opportunity to showcase the dancers and demonstrate the level of professionalism they have achieved.
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.
