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Prima ballerina at Paris Opera finally bids farewell at fourth attempt
Giulia Carbonaro
01:00

 

Back in 2019, Eleonora Abbagnato, prima ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet, announced her retirement at 42, the age when dancers at the prestigious company hang their shoes on the wall and get their pension.

For an artist of her caliber, the star dancer of the oldest national ballet company in the world, and the first Italian ballerina to achieve this status, the send-off had to be spectacular.

A final performance at the Palais Garnier, dedicated to Roland Petit, the choreographer who discovered her at the age of 11 and brought "all her beautiful roles" alive at the Opera was planned two years ago, but her farewell was postponed three times, as first pension reform strikes and then COVID-19 made the event impossible.

But after more than a year of closure, Abbagnato was finally able to bid her farewell to the theater on Friday, where her performance and her almost 25-year long career at the company, was celebrated with a 16-minute standing ovation from the audience.

During her farewell, Abbagnato performed two of Roland Petit's ballets, "Le Rendez-Vous" and "Le Jeune Homme et la Mort" ("The Young Man and Death"), one she has danced many times since she was 19. /AFP

During her farewell, Abbagnato performed two of Roland Petit's ballets, "Le Rendez-Vous" and "Le Jeune Homme et la Mort" ("The Young Man and Death"), one she has danced many times since she was 19. /AFP

"It's like I never left. I'm rediscovering the incredible energy of the Palais Garnier, it's one of the most beautiful venues," said Abbagnato who, since 2015 has assumed the double role of star dancer in Paris and ballet director at Rome Opera House.

Abbagnato's retirement doesn't mean she will disappear from the ballet scene entirely. She's on a mission to save Italian dance, after the recent closures of two ballet companies in Florence and Verona.

Source(s): AFP

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