Donatella Bertozzi sees La Bayadère in Rome and has a 'magical, priceless evening' with Paris Opera Ballet's Sae Eu Park and Paul Marque. TitleLa BayadèreCompanyRome Opera Ballet VenueTeatro … [Read more...] about Review: Rome Opera Ballet’s magical performance of La Bayadère
Rome Opera Ballet
Review: Marco Spada returns to Rome for the first time since Rudolf Nureyev’s appearances in 1981
Marta Mele sees Marco Spada with Rome Opera Ballet, a ballet first restaged in Rome in 1981 by choreographer Pierre Lacotte for Rudolf Nureyev. TitleMarco SpadaCompanyRome Opera BalletVenueTeatro … [Read more...] about Review: Marco Spada returns to Rome for the first time since Rudolf Nureyev’s appearances in 1981
Review: West Side Story at the Caracalla Baths in Rome – thoroughly enjoyable, but where was Robbins?
Donatella Bertozzi sees West Side Story in Rome with its strong and pervasive rhythmical sense of staging. TitleWest Side StoryCompanyTeatro dell'Opera, RomeVenueCaracalla Baths, RomeDate5 July … [Read more...] about Review: West Side Story at the Caracalla Baths in Rome – thoroughly enjoyable, but where was Robbins?
Review: From Cacti to Angelic Forms, an Evening of Contemporary Authors at the Rome Opera
Marta Mele sees Dawson / León-Lightoot / Ekman at the Rome Opera House, a choreographic journey that seems to go backwards in time, asking us to question the ultimate nature of dance. TitleDawson / … [Read more...] about Review: From Cacti to Angelic Forms, an Evening of Contemporary Authors at the Rome Opera
Review: Gala Fracci 2025 – Marianela Nuñez and Reece Clarke join La Scala Ballet to celebrate Carla Fracci
Graham Spicer sees Gala Fracci, La Scala’s annual festa to celebrate the great Italian ballerina Carla Fracci who died in 2021, now in its fourth edition. TitleGala FracciCompanyLa Scala … [Read more...] about Review: Gala Fracci 2025 – Marianela Nuñez and Reece Clarke join La Scala Ballet to celebrate Carla Fracci
Review: Onegin in Rome – two exceptional performers in a tear-jerking evening
Marta Mele sees the Rome Opera Ballet in John Cranko's Onegin starring two exceptional performers, Friedemann Vogel and Nicoletta Manni. TitleOneginCompanyRome Opera BalletVenueTeatro dell'Opera di … [Read more...] about Review: Onegin in Rome – two exceptional performers in a tear-jerking evening
Review: A cloud of contemporary dreams for Rome Opera Ballet
Marta Mele sees Rome Opera Ballet in a dreamy contemporary triple bill that reconnects the myth of Sisyphus to our virtual lives. TitlePhilippe Kratz – S Francesco Annarumma – CreatureVittoria … [Read more...] about Review: A cloud of contemporary dreams for Rome Opera Ballet
Review: The Nutcracker by Paul Chalmer with Rome Opera Ballet – alternate cast – magic that illuminates social and gender conflicts
Marta Mele sees Rome Opera Ballet’s Nutcracker – “a magic that illuminates social and gender conflicts, opening up with enthusiasm to adult life”. TitleThe NutcrackerCompanyRome Opera … [Read more...] about Review: The Nutcracker by Paul Chalmer with Rome Opera Ballet – alternate cast – magic that illuminates social and gender conflicts
Review: The Nutcracker with Rome Opera Ballet showing choreographer Paul Chalmer’s “wisdom, passion and finesse”
Donatella Bertozzi sees The Nutcracker in Rome and finds in Paul Chalmer “a strong narrator and an expert dance maker”. TitleThe NutcrackerCompanyRome Opera Ballet VenueTeatro dell'Opera, RomeDate15 … [Read more...] about Review: The Nutcracker with Rome Opera Ballet showing choreographer Paul Chalmer’s “wisdom, passion and finesse”
Review: Uwe Scholz’s Le rouge et le noir with Rome Opera Ballet – discovering love and passion
Marta Mele sees Rome Opera Ballet in Le rouge et le noir by Uwe Scholz – “The enormous challenges of narrative ballet coupled with the symphonic music of Hector Berlioz” TitleLe rouge et le … [Read more...] about Review: Uwe Scholz’s Le rouge et le noir with Rome Opera Ballet – discovering love and passion
Director Beppe Menegatti, husband of Carla Fracci, dies at 95
The Italian theatre director Beppe Menegatti died this morning – he was 95. Menegatti was best known for the works he created for his wife, the ballerina Carla Fracci, who he married in 1964 and … [Read more...] about Director Beppe Menegatti, husband of Carla Fracci, dies at 95
Remembering Carla Fracci, three years after her death
In 2021, I was asked to write Carla Fracci's obituary for Dancing Times magazine. The great Italian ballerina died three years ago today, on 27 May 2021. Below we reproduce that article. Carla … [Read more...] about Remembering Carla Fracci, three years after her death
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 … [Read more...] about Rome Opera Ballet to visit Paris, Dubai, Barcelona and Liège in tours beginning this month
[Review] Rome Opera Ballet perform de Bana, Forsythe and ‘Women’ a new work by Juliano Nunes
A contemporary triple bill at Rome Opera saw Patrick de Bana and William Forsythe sharing the bill, with a new work from Brazilian choreographer Juliano Nunes. Nunes is from Rio de Janeiro but … [Read more...] about [Review] Rome Opera Ballet perform de Bana, Forsythe and ‘Women’ a new work by Juliano Nunes
Jam jars reveal anonymous letter writer concerning “incompetent fake blonde” Eleonora Abbagnato
A 67-year-old woman, the mother of a dancer, was sentenced yesterday to two years by the court in Rome for a defamation case brought by Eleonora Abbagnato against the author of anonymous … [Read more...] about Jam jars reveal anonymous letter writer concerning “incompetent fake blonde” Eleonora Abbagnato
Paul Chalmer’s new Nutcracker for the Rome Opera Ballet
Unlike the UK or the States, Italy does not have a Nutcracker tradition. It is occasionally performed at Christmas, of course (though also at other times of the year) but if it’s put on at La Scala, … [Read more...] about Paul Chalmer’s new Nutcracker for the Rome Opera Ballet
[Photo album] Carla Fracci’s Giselle in Rome with Susanna Salvi and Michele Satriano
Rome Opera Ballet’s Giselle is dedicated to Carla Fracci and is the last ballet of the 2021-2022 season in the capital. It is the choreographic version she created in 2004 while she was director of … [Read more...] about [Photo album] Carla Fracci’s Giselle in Rome with Susanna Salvi and Michele Satriano
[Review] Carla Fracci’s Giselle in Rome – Natalia Osipova kneeling at the altar of emotional honesty
In honour of Carla Fracci, who died last year, Rome Opera Ballet has restaged her version of Giselle, which was mounted in 2004 during her time as director of the company (2000-2010). The production … [Read more...] about [Review] Carla Fracci’s Giselle in Rome – Natalia Osipova kneeling at the altar of emotional honesty
Rome Opera Ballet – Season 2022-2023
The new ballet season of the Teatro dell'Opera in Roma has been announced by the company's director, Eleonora Abbagnato. Don Quixote by Laurent Hilaire Rome Opera Ballet opens its season with … [Read more...] about Rome Opera Ballet – Season 2022-2023
Giulietta – a new ballet with Eleonora Abbagnato, her daughter, and an imaginary friend
A modern-day Juliet, still a child, imagines herself as an adult. She imagines having a Romeo of her own, as in Shakespeare’s story. The young Juliet is played by ten-year-old Julia Balzaretti, and … [Read more...] about Giulietta – a new ballet with Eleonora Abbagnato, her daughter, and an imaginary friend
Julio Bocca and Alessandra Ferri – together again at La Scala
Julio Bocca and Alessandra Ferri have shared the stage many times during their successful partnership which began in the 1980s when the American Ballet Theatre brought them together – it was a … [Read more...] about Julio Bocca and Alessandra Ferri – together again at La Scala
Étoile Eleonora Abbagnato to dance with her 10-year-old daughter
Eleonora Abbagnato, former étoile with the Paris Opera Ballet and director of the Rome Opera Ballet, has two children with her husband, the former footballer Federico Balzaretti – Julia, 10 years old, … [Read more...] about Étoile Eleonora Abbagnato to dance with her 10-year-old daughter
[Photo Album] Le Corsaire in Rome with Nuñez, Muntagirov, Tissi and Makhateli
Tonight, Tuesday 10 May, until 15 May, the curtain of the Teatro Costanzi in Rome rises on Le Corsaire, a version that José Carlos Martínez created for the Rome Opera Ballet in 2020 but which had its … [Read more...] about [Photo Album] Le Corsaire in Rome with Nuñez, Muntagirov, Tissi and Makhateli
Italy’s dance magazine Danza & Danza names winners of 2021 awards
The leading dance magazine in Italy, Danza & Danza, has announced its annual awards and, like last year, they are somewhat modified to include streams and videos of dance that have become new ways … [Read more...] about Italy’s dance magazine Danza & Danza names winners of 2021 awards
Tonight – La Bayadère Divertissement from Rome Opera Ballet’s school
Sunday 7 March at 20.00 CET, there’s a chance to see the students from the Rome Opera Ballet’s school in La Bayadère Divertissement with choreography by Ofelia Gonzalez and Pablo Moret (two of the … [Read more...] about Tonight – La Bayadère Divertissement from Rome Opera Ballet’s school
Vivaldi Suite – free streaming of a new ballet from Rome Opera
Tonight at 8.00 pm CET, the ballet Vivaldi Suite by choreographer Michele Merola will be broadcast in free streaming on the YouTube channel of the Opera di Roma. Merola is making his debut with … [Read more...] about Vivaldi Suite – free streaming of a new ballet from Rome Opera
Eleonora Abbagnato shines in Four Seasons, created for strange times
The Covid-safe dance piece 4 stagioni (Four Seasons) was created for Rome Opera Ballet after the opera, dance and concert summer programme at the Caracalla Baths was cancelled in May. Opera Roma … [Read more...] about Eleonora Abbagnato shines in Four Seasons, created for strange times
In conversation with Marianela Nuñez
The Royal Ballet’s Argentinian principal dancer, Marianela Nuñez, is in lockdown in Buenos Aires. She went there to be near her family and partner, because now home, for Nela, is London, which also … [Read more...] about In conversation with Marianela Nuñez
Rome’s Caracalla Baths summer season cancelled – Bocelli, Bolle, Baglioni, opera and ballet
Rome Opera has cancelled the open-air season of opera, ballet and concerts at the Caracalla Baths. Events affected are the 12 concerts by Claudio Baglioni in June called “12 Notes”, a concert by … [Read more...] about Rome’s Caracalla Baths summer season cancelled – Bocelli, Bolle, Baglioni, opera and ballet
Étoile Eleonora Abbagnato in isolation on Ibiza
The children were on a break from their school, the Lycée français in Rome, so we went to our house on Ibiza, and now we’re blocked here. We haven’t been out for three weeks. It’s a drama here … [Read more...] about Étoile Eleonora Abbagnato in isolation on Ibiza