Alessandra Ferri, Italian Prima Ballerina, returned on Thursday night, at the age of 53, to the Metropolitan Opera House stage to dance, for just one performance, the teenage Juliet — probably her most famous role — which she first danced at 21, in 1984, as a principal at the Royal Ballet.
She danced with the Royal Ballet (1980–1984), American Ballet Theatre (1985–2007) and La Scala Theatre Ballet (1992–2007) and as an international guest artist, before temporally retiring on 10 August 2007, aged 44, then returning in 2013. She was eventually granted the rank of Prima ballerina absoluta.
In 1985, Ferri left the Royal Ballet at the request of Mikhail Baryshnikov to become a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre, under Baryshnikov’s own direction. She stated that she needed a more rigorous training program that the company could provide.[3] In 2007 she brought Roberto Bolle to dance opposite her in her farewell performance of Romeo and Juliet.
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