From November 2000 she directed the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma ballet, where she continued until 2010. From 1996 to 1997 she directed the Verona Arena ballet. Starting in the late 1980s, she directed numerous major ballet companies in Italy: first was the ballet company of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. She appeared with leading companies of the world, including the Royal Ballet in London, the Stuttgart Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm and the American Ballet Theatre. Fracci at her prime in La Sylphide with Erik Bruhn.įracci performed with partners including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Roberto Bolle, Erik Bruhn, Alexander Godunov, Henning Kronstam, Gheorghe Iancu, Rudolf Nureyev, Giuseppe Picone and Vladimir Vasiliev. In 1963, she left the company as she felt underpaid and underemployed. Her breakthrough came when she filled in for Violette Verdy in Rodrigues' Cinderella in 1958, which led to her promotion to principal dancer, and further to her dancing the title role in Giselle with the London Festival Ballet the following year. Career Fracci in 1957įracci entered La Scala Theatre Ballet after she graduated, and was promoted to soloist the following year. She was one of six students chosen to participate in passo d'addio, a farewell performance of the graduates held after an opera performance. She described the early days at the school as "a crashing bore and a terrible chore." However, after she was cast as the mandolin in The Sleeping Beauty, performing alongside Margot Fonteyn, she changed her mind about ballet training and "started working very hard to catch up for the lost time." Fracci's training completed in 1955. While her body type was deemed unsuitable for ballet, she was pretty enough to be the last of 35 students accepted. In 1946, her mother brought her and her sister to a La Scala Theatre Ballet School entrance exam, which ended up being disastrous for Fracci. During the Second World War, she lived with relatives in the countryside. She appeared with many of the leading companies of the world, and received multiple honours for her performances.īorn as Carolina, Fracci was born on 20 August 1936, in Milan, to a tram driver father and a mother who worked at a factory. Later, she directed several ballet companies in Italy, including at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in Rome.Īccording to Bruhn, she "gave the world a new idea of the ballerina in 19th-century Romantic ballets". She danced with partners including Erik Bruhn, Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. She also performed in ballets such as Nijinsky and Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances: Erik Bruhn 1961–1967. ![]() ![]() Fracci is known for her interpretation of leading characters in several Romantic ballets, such as La Sylphide, Giselle, Swan Lake, and Romeo and Juliet. ![]() Considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century, she was a leading dancer of La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan, then worked freelance with international companies including the Royal Ballet, London, Stuttgart Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. “We will always think of her with affection and gratitude, remembering the smile of the last days we spent together, when she felt she had come home again,’' he said.įracci is survived by her husband of 57 years, theater director Beppe Menegatti, and their son, Francesco Menegatti, who as a child often traveled with his mother on tour.Carolina " Carla" Fracci ( Italian: 20 August 1936 – ) was an Italian prima ballerina assoluta, actress and ballet director. La Scala’s general manager, Dominique Meyer, recalled her return to the theater as “an unforgettable moment for everyone. “It was very moving to be back at La Scala, after more than 20 years,” she told Sky TG24. ![]() Italy’s premier, Mario Draghi, called her “a great Italian,” and President Sergio Mattarella, said she had honored her country “with her elegance and her artistic efforts, the fruit of intense work.”įracci last danced at La Scala in 2000, in the role of Luce in “Excelsior.” She was invited back in January of this year to teach a masterclass on “Giselle,” which was broadcast on La Scala’s social media channels and is part of a documentary series by RAI state television.
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