At the age of 93, Claude Bessy, prima ballerina emerita, ballet mistress, and director of the École de danse de l’Opéra, passed away today, April 23, 2026. She devoted over sixty years of her life to a single institution, the Opéra national de Paris, where she became an étoile in 1956.
If one were to imagine a combination of particular choreographic and ballet company dance styles, one would struggle to find a more incompatible combination than the highly dramatic, expressive, and exalted Kenneth MacMillan with his opulent historical opus Mayerling.
Throngs of eager spectators have lined the steps of Paris theatres in recent months, while last minute ticket seekers display homemade signs—often in vain—hoping to access sold-out performances.
