Q&AWhen did you start singing?As a child in Upstate New York, every Sunday I was taken to Mass. I loved hearing the songs in Latin, and hearing the choir. I wanted so badly to sing along, but was told by the organist I’d have to wait until my voice changed!At school I was definitely noticed at an early age, and encouraged. This year, my home town of Pavilion … [Read more...]
Dame Merle Park on a ballerina’s need for rest and energy: I have six spoonfuls of sugar in my tea
Back in the days when Merle Park was a CBE — she became Dame Merle in 1986 — she left this interview with a British women’s magazine. It makes interesting, and amusing, reading almost 40 years later.Dame Merle Park will celebrate her 80th birthday on 8 October this year. At times my energy has been at a very low ebb I always have more energy in a hot climate than in a … [Read more...]
Renata Scotto on her childhood, her musical beginnings and her debut in Traviata at 18
Renata Scotto has been made an honorary citizen of Tovo San Giacomo, a small town near the Ligurian coast, in the Province of Savona — just a few kilometres from where I happen to be writing this article. In my career, I have received many awards, but this is the best of them all. Why does Tovo San Giacomo, with few more than 2,000 inhabitants, hold a special place in her … [Read more...]
Composer Kevin Puts and mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack on the creation of ‘Elizabeth Cree’, a new opera
On the 6th April, 1881, a woman was hanged within the walls of Camberwell Prison. The ceremony was to be performed at eight o'clock, according to custom, and just after dawn the other prisoners began their ritual howling… …The only tribute to sensationalism was her coffin, which had been strategically placed in the prison yard so that she might pass it on the way to her … [Read more...]
World Ballet Day 2017: 5 October Live with Australian, Bolshoi, Royal, Canadian and San Francisco Ballet Companies
Five of the world's leading ballet companies will come together for World Ballet Day on Thursday 5 October to broadcast 20 hours of live, behind-the-scenes footage via Facebook Live, following a successful partnership with Facebook in 2016.The Australian Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet will partner for the … [Read more...]