After recovering from injury, the America ballet star will debut as Franz in four Sydney performances of Coppélia.

In exciting news for ballet fans, American ballet star David Hallberg is to return to the ballet stage after a long break due to injury – and he will making his reappearance with the Australian Ballet.

Breaking the news on her blog, Deborah Jones, dance critic for The Australian, revealed that Hallberg is to make his role debut as the larky, larrikin Franz in the popular comic ballet Coppélia in December when he will dance in four performances at the Sydney Opera House.

^{David Hallberg in Sydney in 2013 for Cinderella with the Australian Ballet. Photo by Wendell Teodoro}

Hallberg, who is a principal artist with both American Ballet Theatre (since 2006) and the Bolshoi Ballet (since 2011), had surgery on his left ankle in 2014, forcing him to withdraw from all subsequent performances that year. He also cancelled performances in 2015.

Jones reported that Hallberg, now 34, has worked with AB staff over the past year or so as part of his recuperation. A sought-after guest artist, Hallberg is no...