Francesco Scarpato

Biography

Born 14 February 1992 in San Giuseppe Vesuviano near Naples, Francesco trained at Teatro di San Carlo Ballet School with Annamaria Di Maio and Marianna Di Pietro. Scholarships from Fondazione Zeffirelli enabled further study with Dutch National Ballet and English National Ballet School. After a season with Astra Roma Ballet he was recruited by Petr Zuska to Prague (2014). He soon debuted as Harlequin and Russian Dance in Vámos’s Nutcracker, followed by Benvolio/Mercutio in Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet and the virtuoso Franz in Hynd’s Coppélia (2018). Promotion to demi-soloist came in 2019.
Francesco’s classical range now spans Bluebird and the Prince of the East (The Sleeping Beauty), Golden Buddha (La Bayadère) and roles in Swan Lake, Cinderella and Snow Queen. He has become a reliable force in contemporary bills: Forsythe’s The Second Detail, Kylián’s Petit Mort and Bella Figura, Eyal’s Bill, van Manen’s Frank Bridge Variations and Pastor’s Moving Rooms. In 2024 he added a dramatic dervish in Mauro Bigonzetti’s Scheherazade. Francesco guest-stars at galas in Italy and Germany and teaches summer courses in Naples and Prague.

Classical repertoire

• The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol – Harlequins, Russian Dance, Guards, Waltz (solo) (Youri Vámos)

• Coppélia – Franz, Swanilda’s Friend, Work, Wedding Dance (Ronald Hynd)

• The Sleeping Beauty – Bluebird, Prince of the East (Márcia Haydée)

• Romeo and Juliet – Romeo, Benvolio, Mercutio (John Cranko)

• Swan Lake – Pas de trois, Companion of the Neapolitan Princess (John Cranko)

• La Bayadère – Golden Buddha, Temple Dancer’s Consort (Javier Torres)

• Cinderella – Four Prince’s Friends (Jean-Christophe Maillot)

• The Snow Queen – Gnomes, Wolf (Michael Corder)

• Scheherazade – King’s Faithful / Dervish (Mauro Bigonzetti)

Contemporary & neoclassical repertoire

• The Second Detail (William Forsythe)

• Handman (Edward Clug) – demi-soloist cast

• Eden | Eden (Wayne McGregor) – demi-soloist cast

• Bill (Sharon Eyal) – male soloist section

• Artza (Eyal Dadon)

• Bohemian Gravity (Yemi A.D.)

• Frank Bridge Variations (Hans van Manen)

• Fly Paper Bird (Marco Goecke)

• Moving Rooms (Krzysztof Pastor)

• Petit Mort, Bella Figura, Gods and Dogs (Jiří Kylián)

• Dos Soles Solos (Alejandro Cerrudo), Prelude und Liebestod (Cayetano Soto)

• Moving Still – ensemble (Jiří Kylián)

• Holo Harmonies / Vertigo Pas de Deux – ensemble (Mauro Bigonzetti)