Rome (AFP)

The French Manuel Legris took on Tuesday the direction of the corps de ballet of La Scala in Milan, where he succeeds Frédéric Olivieri, who takes the direction of the dance school of the most famous opera of the peninsula.

"Today is a great day, officially I am the new director of the La Scala ballet in Milan. It is a great honor, even in these difficult times, to start working with these wonderful dancers, a new team and in this prestigious theater. Good luck to all, "Manuel Legris, 56, wrote on his Facebook account.

One of the first engagements of the new director of the ballet will be the creation "Verdi Suite", which he produced especially for five artists from La Scala as part of the mega-show "A riveder le stelle" ("To see the stars again "), an exceptional evening organized on December 7 with stars like Placido Domingo and Roberto Alagna, without an audience but which will be broadcast on television.

Born in Paris, Manuel Legris joined the corps de ballet of the Paris Opera in 1980, where he was named star by Rudolf Nureyev.

He was Director of the Staatsballett Vienna and Artistic Director of the Staatsoper Dance Academy from 2010 to 2020.

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