Carla Fracci (1936–2021)

Carolina "Carla" Fracci was born in Milan, Italy. Her parents were Santina (Rocca), a factory worker, and Luigi Fracci, a tram driver. She liked to dance around the house, and when she was 10 years old, her mother took her and her sister to audition at the La Scala Theatre Ballet School. She was accepted and studied there until 1955. After graduation, she entered the ballet company at La Scala. Fracci became one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. In addition to being prima ballerina at La Scala Theatre Ballet, she also appeared with leading ballet companies around the world, including the Royal Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. She was greatly admired for her interpretation of leading characters in Romantic ballets, such as La Sylphide, Giselle, Swan Lake, and Romeo & Juliet. Her partners included many celebrated male dancers such as Erik Bruhn, Rudolf Nureyev, Ivan Nagy, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. She also formed the Compagnia Italiana di Balletto with her husband, Beppe Menegatti, which performed throughout Italy. As her 50-year dancing career drew to a close, Fracci became a director at several ballet companies, including the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in Rome. She appeared frequently in Italian television specials, and in 1982 had a role in a popular mini-series on RAI called "Verdi," playing the composer's second wife, singer Giuseppina Strepponi. She received multiple honors for her work, and was known as the "Duse of the dance" as Clive Barnes dubbed her in The New York Times. In 2013, she published her autobiography, Step After Step (Passo dopo passo).