Frédéric Olivieri will take over as Director of La Scala’s ballet company from 1 March 2025.
This will be the third time that Olivieri has directed the company. His first five-year stint was from 2002 until 2007 after two years as the company’s head Maître de ballet. He then led the theatre’s famed Ballet School until he took over at the company once again from 2017 until 2020. He then returned to the ballet school, and will continue to lead the school when he takes over at the company, this time from Manuel Legris.
His appointment is confirmed for two seasons, instead of the usual five, and corridor whispers suggest that this will give Roberto Bolle the time he needs to clear his diary of Bolle & Friends galas and other commitments before becoming Director in Milan. Bolle turns 50 on 26 March.
However, La Scala‘s new CEO, Fortunato Ortombina, when making the announcement of Olivieri’s appointment said:
Please stop asking Roberto Bolle when he will become director of the ballet at La Scala because that implies an unkind question, namely when he will stop dancing. Yet he is currently immersed in many projects, both with us and around the world.
He added:
Legris’ decision to leave is a recent one but the choice of Frédéric Olivieri is not a fallback as I feel lucky to have him. The ‘two years’ had to be put into this announcement because Olivieri remains head of the school at this time. Later we will see if adjustments are needed.
Olivieri was born in Nice, but after graduating from the city’s Conservatoire he won the First Prize at the Prix de Lausanne in 1977, giving him a route to the Paris Opera Ballet School. He then joined the Paris Opera Ballet under the direction of Violette Verdy, Rosella Hightower and Rudolf Nureyev. He became a soloist in 1981. In
1985, he joined the newly-born Ballets de Monte Carlo as First Dancer under the direction of Pierre Lacotte and Ghislaine Thesmar, and soon became an Étoile. In 1993, he became Principal at the Hamburg Ballet under John Neumeier, with whom he ended his career as a dancer.
In a statement, the theatre said: “The Teatro alla Scala thanks Maestro Manuel Legris for the work done for the development of the Company.”
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.