Major ascension by Julio Bocca

        Last week Haglund was reading a recent interview of Julio Bocca in which he casually quipped that he'd like to run an organization again some day. Now comes the announcement that he's taking over the directorship of Teatro Colon -- not just the ballet, but the whole kit 'n kaboodle -- ballet, opera, philharmonia, chorus, art institute, educational institutes -- all of it. The Ministry of Culture dismissed Jorge Telerman in order to install Bocca. You may recall that Telerman was pivotal in the ousting/resignation of Paloma Herrera as the director of the ballet. He later said that he would like Bocca to return, but it's doubtful he had in mind that Julio would take over his own job! Julio is bringing in Uruguayan Gerardo Grieco to help him lead the organization.

        This is a huge ascension by Bocca - the equivalent of becoming the head of La Scala or ROH. According to several sources, the Teatro Colon is ranked as the third best opera house in the world.

        So happy that Julio has found the challenge that he was looking for -- even if it isn't in New York.

Comments

[Georgiann]

How Wonderful!! Thanks for the news, Hagland!

[Jeannette]

This is major, Haglund! Congratulations to Julio Bocca. The Colon is a spectacular opera house. I was there most recently for the staging of Ashton’s SYLVIA. The season is in reverse to ours…June/July/August is high season.

[Jeannette]

p.s. At least Bocca doesn’t have to deal with any WOKE pressure to cast female ballerinas as the leading male figures in ballets.

[Haglund]

Lol, Jeannette. Pickett needed a gimmick. The NYT will write about nothing else.

[Jeannette]

No pointe shoes, no tutus, no tiaras in Crime and Punishment. A real “treat” for the Feb 2025 Washington, DC, tour! I’ll be saving money and traveling to NYCB next February, for Ratmansky’s Paquita. Tradition wins.

[Jeannette]

I mean Ratmansky’s Paquita Grand Pas, which will include a reconstruction of Balanchine’s Minkus Pas de Trois.

Hmm, now I’m wondering if the Grand Pas will include the Children’s Polonaise, with SAB students? I get excited when something classical and traditional is in the works.

[Haglund]

That will be fabulous!

[Abi]

Hi Haglund! As an argentinian, I have to say that Julio is going to be fighting against mountains. The Teatro Colón is a very complicated workplace: every single AD ends up resigning or being asked to leave because they are not allowed to do their job freely, because of political, economical and internal issues. TC dancers are already complaining about his arrival, because he's kinda known for being a little bit too harsh on dancers. I don't know how long he's going to be around, but I do believe that the "powers that be" might have accepted his terms and conditions because for many many years he's been asked to become the AD and he refused every single time because they wouldn't give him what he asked for (longer working hours, far more shows, money to bring newer repertoire, and no political pressure to do or not do things).

[Haglund]

I think the important element of the appointment is that he isn't the AD of the ballet. He's running the whole place -- opera, ballet, symphony, theater, educational initiatives. He has to appoint someone to run the ballet. There are a lot of candidates I can think of. It will be interesting to see what he does.

[Abi]

Actually, from what it has been said here, there's a possibility he will be running the ballet as well, or at least will keep Mario Galizzi for some time, who's now acting as company director, until he appoints someone else. Bocca will have full artistic decision while Gerardo Grieco, his right hand at SODRE, will be in charge of the rest. It's an interesting new perspective for sure!