volcanohunter Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 The Italian press is reporting that POB étoile Eleonora Abbagnato has been named artistic director of the ballet company at the Rome Opera. The reports don't seem to say anything about what this means for her performing career. http://www.agi.it/spettacolo/notizie/opera_roma_eleonora_abbagnato_direttrice_del_corpo_di_ballo-201504081536-spe-rt10135 Link to comment
Helene Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 She'll be only 37 at the end of June and isn't at the mandatory retirement age. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleonora_Abbagnato Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 I would expect her to continue to dance, but will she follow Tamara Rojo's example and become prima of the company she now directs, or does she intend to be more of a titular director and continue working at the POB? Does the Paris Opera allow such a thing? Link to comment
Helene Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Froustey was able to take a leave if absence. That might be a practical solution were she to test the waters with the Rojo approach. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Which reminds me that I'm still unclear on Froustey's status. But I don't want to veer . Link to comment
Natalia Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Congratulations to Ms Abbagnato! I hope that she'll present some of the lovely historic ballets that were mounted during Carla Fracci's tenure, such as Red Poppy, La Chatte, La Vestale, Gitana, etc. Link to comment
pherank Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Yes, congratulations to Ms Abbagnato!RE: Ms. Froustey - this was posted on her Twitter page just the other day:PS: @BalletOParis' "lost generation" has made it after all. Hecquet is an étoile, her classmate @lapetitefrench_ a principal @sfballet. I get the feeling from her posts that she will remain in SF as long as she is emotionally comfortable being in the US. Obviously it's not easy leaving family and friends behind (especially when you don't really know the language well). She seems to be making a go of it though, and I get the sense that she does enjoy the SFB repetoire: https://instagram.com/p/1OF3sFHrcZ/?taken-by=lapetitefrench_ Link to comment
Cygnet Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 This is wonderful news! Congratulations to Eleonora ! Link to comment
Helene Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Which reminds me that I'm still unclear on Froustey's status. But I don't want to veer . We detoured to Messmer on the Froustey thread, so it's only fair According to this interview from Danses avec la plume from June 2014, L'année prochaine, vous restez au San Francisco Ballet. Comment avez-vous pris cette décision ? Un an, ce n'est rien et ça passe en un éclair. Ce fut une nouvelle vie. Je suis arrivée, j'ai eu tout à apprendre. Vivre dans un nouveau pays, apprendre une nouvelle langue, travailler avec une nouvelle compagnie, apprendre de nouveaux ballets, découvrir un nouveau théâtre... Le temps d'apprendre les ballets et de les danser une ou deux fois, la saison était finie. Même si j'ai dansé énormément, et je n'ai pas arrêté, cela reste vraiment trop court pour faire un choix de vie. Car partir définitivement au San Francisco Ballet n'est pas juste un choix de carrière. Vivre aux États-Unis, c'est particulier. Comment cela va-t-il se passer concrètement ? Vous avez renouvelé votre congé sabbatique ? Nous avons droit à dix mois de congé sabbatique. Je suis désormais en congé sans solde. Ce congé peut durer tant que l'on veut. Après, aucune compagnie ne veut laisser une de ses danseuses à l'étranger pendant dix ans, c'est un peu compliqué et ce n'est pas l'idée. Je suis contente d'avoir cette possibilité de rester au moins l'année prochaine. Après, on verra, la situation ne change pas finalement. Google translates this to: Next year you stay at the San Francisco Ballet. How did you make this decision? One year, it's nothing and it goes in a flash. It was a new life. I arrived, I had everything to learn. Living in a new country, learning a new language, working with a new company, learn new ballets, discover a new theater ... Time to learn ballet and dance once or twice, the season was over. While I danced a lot, and I have not stopped, it remains far too short to make a life choice . For permanently from the San Francisco Ballet is not just a career choice. Live in the United States, it is particular. How will this actually happen? You have renewed your sabbatical? We are entitled to ten-month sabbatical. I am now on leave without pay. This leave may last as long as you want. After that, no company wants to leave one of his dancers abroad for ten years, it is a bit complicated and it's not the idea. I'm glad to have this opportunity to stay at least next year. Then we will see, the situation does not change eventually Link to comment
miliosr Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Unless Froustey is terribly homesick for France, I don't see what she gains by returning to the POB. In San Francisco this season, her repertory includes Serenade, Giselle, La Bayadere (coached by Makharova), Dances at a Gathering, Don Q (1st cast) and Shostakovich Trilogy. As a sujet (which she still would be in Paris), I don't see her having access to the same top level of parts and she would still have to confront the promotional exam. Also, she can't, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered a contemporary dancer. Given how large swaths of Millepied's 2015-16 programming are given over to contemporary choreographers, there would be months out of the year where she wouldn't work for lack of anything to do. With Abbagnato, I wonder if she's assessed the situation under Millepied and realized she might not have a lot to do under his directorship. Also, wasn't she vocal in support of Nicolas Le Riche for the directorship? I love the POB -- always so much drama! Link to comment
silvermash Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Well being in Paris, I don't find the situation so much filled with drama ... It has been quite a few years Eleonora Abbagnato is guesting with Roma opera (as well as Alessio Carbone, POB Premier danseur) and she was talking a lot about her involvement in the artistic direction for at least the past two years, so it's no real surprise... but it is true that the next season programming is not a one that seems to fit her style, but it's the case of most other POB Etoiles... Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Apparently the Rome Opera Ballet wanted a repertoire more like the POB's, and that's what they're going to get: Balanchine, Millepied, Forsythe, the third act of Nureyev's Raymonda, Preljocaj's Le Parc, plus Wheeldon's Swan Lake and a Nutcracker, of course. http://www.operaroma.it/ita/se-upload/Stagione_15_16.pdf Link to comment
miliosr Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 The New York City Ballet-Rome campus . . . now open for business! Link to comment
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