Portrait of Rudolf Nureyev

Rudolf Nureyev (1938-93), painted here by Attilio Melo, was a constant presence in Milan. The great Russian ballet dancer who fled to the West débuted at La Scala on 9th October 1965 in Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. He returned the following year with Margot Fonteyn for the “pas
de deux” by Ashton taken from “The Lady of the Camellias”. In 1970, the difficult artist clashed with the corps de ballet, who nevertheless had begun to adore him. He regularly performed in Giselle at La Scala. He danced with Luciana Savignano and Carla Fracci to choreography by Maurice Béjart. He was a regular during the 1970s, by popular request. In 1980, he famously staged his own Romeo and Juliet. In the Nutcracker, he danced two roles: Drosselmeyer and the Prince. Then came Don Quixote, La Sylphide and The Lesson.
Rudy the Tatar danced “until his final breath”, his extraordinary life prematurely cut short at the age of 54.