La Scala ballerina Antonella Luongo dies tragically at home

Antonella Luongo, a member of the corps de ballet at La Scala, has died.

La Scala said in a statement:

The artists of the Corps de Ballet, the maîtres, the director Manuel Legris, the Chorus, the Orchestra, the Management of La Scala and all the theatre workers mourn the untimely death of Antonella Luongo, an artist who was trained at La Scala and at La Scala she graced the stage both in the ranks of the Corps de Ballet and in many solo roles, in the great repertory ballets and in contemporary works. In 1998, when she had just joined the company, she was featured in the Gala for the 185th anniversary of La Scala’s Ballet School, from which she had graduated a few months previously.

Since then she has shared with her many colleagues and the new generation of artists the life of the theatre, the world tours, the daily life of the Company, which is also a family that now remembers her, in classics such as Giselle, Swan Lake, La Sylphide, in the works of 20th century masters such as Béjart, Cranko, Nureyev, MacMillan, Deane, in the works of Italian choreographers Mario Pistoni, Ugo Dell’Ara and Mauro Bigonzetti, and in the productions of Jiří Kylián and George Balanchine.

The first performance of the Kratz/Preljocaj/de Bana triple-bill on Friday 28 February will be dedicated to Antonella’s memory.

In an absurd domestic incident, she choked when eating while alone at home. She leaves two young daughters, Èlena and Leila.

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 Italian ballerina 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.