Italian prima ballerina Eleonora Abbagnato bids farewell to Paris's Garnier Opera Italian prima ballerina Eleonora Abbagnato is bidding farewell to the stage of Paris's Garnier Opera house, where she was admitted as a 14-year-old fellowship student. Despite the end of a long and fruitful relationship with French Opera, she says: "I feel like I'm living the most beautiful moments of my life." Abbagnato, married to former Italian footballer Federico Balzaretti, has also been director of the Ballet of Rome for the past four years. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES\\n