In memory of Fracci the tasty appointments on the bill at La Scala
The unmissable dance and ballet titles at Covent Garden and Piermarini before the summer break
2' min read
2' min read
Conceived in 2022 to fulfil the inescapable necessity of remembering a name of reference in the recent history of the greatest ballerinas, the Fracci Gala is back again this year in La Scala's dance and ballet programme as an occasion to profile an appointment of international importance by virtue of the invited guests. Among them were Marianela Nuñez and Reece Clarke, stars of the Royal Ballet of London, already acclaimed at the Piermarini, here engaged in some fragments from the third act of "The Merry Widow" in Ronald Hynd's choreographic version and, following, respectively in the extremely insidious "Adagio della rosa" from the first act of "Sleeping Beauty" and in the incisive concluding pas de deux from "Onegin". After a long absence, John Cranko's poetic version of "Romeo and Juliet" is also back at last, with the famous "balcony pas de deux" entrusted to Romina Contreras, Principal at the Ballet of Santiago and now with the troupe of the National Theatre in Prague, making her La Scala debut with Claudio Coviello's Romeo.
Gala Fracci
This edition of the Gala Fracci returns to anchor the cardinal roles of the Milanese étoile: the unfailing pas de deux of the second act of 'Giselle' with the valid interpretation of Martina Arduino and Marco Agostino, and the convincing spirited trait that Alice Mariani, Nicola Del Freo and Maria Celeste Losa deliver in the 'grand pas de deux' from the third act of Rudolf Nureyev's 'Don Quixote'. Space is also given to 'La strada' here with the suave nuances of Antonella Albano and Christian Fagetti. In the nostalgic and triumphant pas de deux and grand finale of 'Excelsior', we find Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko brilliantly recovering the colours of a title absent from the stage of La Scala for a decade.
Dance at Covent Garden and the Piermarini before the summer break
A Gala, the one dedicated to the memory of Carla Fracci, which opens a moment of grace for dance and ballet fans at Covent Garden and Piermarini. The two spearheads of the greatest troupe from across the Channel followed at La Scala will, in fact, still be on stage in London in two unmissable titles: if for the last performances of "Onegin" Marianela Nuñez will share with Roberto Bolle the two eagerly awaited performances on 7 and 12 June, Reece Clarke will be engaged in three performances with the fascinating choreographic narration of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".
At La Scala a new important debut: from 11 June the first "Paquita" of the Milanese company will enter the repertoire - the one signed by Pierre Lacotte in 2001 for the Paris Opéra - and in the course of the eight performances there will be three casts in the main roles. Before the summer break, there will be another appointment with the great classic: from 7 July there will be space for the choreographic and dramaturgical richness of 'Swan Lake' in the version by the unforgettable Rudolf Nureyev and the historical staging by Ezio Frigero and Franca Squarciapino, all six performances of which are already sold-out.
