Riccardo Chailly, photo by Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala My wife and I have spent our lives travelling and usually we've returned home exhausted by the weight of our bags full of books and music we'd bought. I could only glance at part of this vast library as there was never enough time available. Now we have an unexpected oasis of calm in our family. It gives time … [Read more...] about Riccardo Chailly on life in the time of the coronavirus
interview
Alessandra Ferri: The art of becoming a couple is the gamble of a lifetime
Alessandra Ferri has been interpreting Eleonora Duse in John Neumeier’s ballet Duse, most recently in Venice at the beginning of February. Does she feel she has anything in common with Italy’s most famous 19th-century actress? Much, starting with my approach to a work, stripping away the façades that for me have no part in an art that is an internal journey. You must know … [Read more...] about Alessandra Ferri: The art of becoming a couple is the gamble of a lifetime
Katia Ricciarelli at 74 returns to the opera stage and talks about being a diva
At 74, after many years away from the stage, and often from singing (the wear and tear on her voice means that even singing a popular song on TV can lead to surprising results), Katia Ricciarelli returns to opera in Cavalleria Rusticana. It was Cecilia Gasdia, now intendant of Verona’s Arena, who convinced her. It will be paired with Pagliacci, and film director Gabriele … [Read more...] about Katia Ricciarelli at 74 returns to the opera stage and talks about being a diva
Interview with Roberto Bolle – I am more confident now, not just as an artist but also as a person
Roberto Bolle’s television specials Danza con me (Dance with Me) which over the last couple of years have welcomed in the New Year with their screenings on 1 January on Italy’s main TV channel, RAI1, mix classical dancers – Anna Tsygankova, Silvia Azzoni, and Virna Toppi this year – with pop stars, actors, comics, such as Roberto Benigni and Andrea Bocelli for the third edition … [Read more...] about Interview with Roberto Bolle – I am more confident now, not just as an artist but also as a person
Interview with Anna Netrebko on Tosca at La Scala: kissing, killing, and Kabaivanska
Anna Netrebko opens the new season at La Scala – as each year, on 7 December – as Tosca. It will be her fourth time in what is always a prestigious occasion (Italy’s President and other dignitaries will be present) after heading new productions of Andrea Chénier, Giovanna d’Arco, and Don Giovanni. With the ultra-critical ‘loggionisiti’ watching over from the gods, it is always … [Read more...] about Interview with Anna Netrebko on Tosca at La Scala: kissing, killing, and Kabaivanska
On Site Opera presents Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at the stunning Wave Hill estate in the Bronx
On Site Opera will present Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, at Wave Hill, a stunning 28-acre historic estate and now public gardens in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, from 25 to 27 October 2019. This operatic ghost story is perhaps the perfect piece to benefit from an immersive production. Its story will unfold in various locations around the estate, both indoors … [Read more...] about On Site Opera presents Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at the stunning Wave Hill estate in the Bronx
Interview: Who is Jacopo Tissi? The Bolshoi’s enigmatic Italian star talks about Moscow, Milan and London, “It certainly wasn’t easy”
Three years ago, Jacopo Tissi left La Scala to join the Bolshoi Company in Moscow. Makhar Vaziev, the Company’s current director, was previously the director at La Scala and had seen Tissi’s work. It was Vaziev (on having to find a substitute for Sergei Polunin, who was himself a substitute for David Hallberg), who chose the young corps de ballet dancer to partner Svetlana … [Read more...] about Interview: Who is Jacopo Tissi? The Bolshoi’s enigmatic Italian star talks about Moscow, Milan and London, “It certainly wasn’t easy”
The Style of Movement: Fashion and Dance – a new book of dance photography from NYC Dance Project
Ken Browar and Deborah Ory – the husband-and-wife team behind the NYCDance Project – have their second dance photography book coming out next week: The Style of Movement: Fashion and Dance. Their first, which went on to be a best-seller, was The Art of Movement, which came out three years ago. While their particular style remains their signature, the approach is a little … [Read more...] about The Style of Movement: Fashion and Dance – a new book of dance photography from NYC Dance Project
Introducing 19-year-old Canadian dancer Shale Wagman: from Lausanne to ENB to the Mariinsky
Canadian dancer Shale Wagman turned 19 last May. Soon after he was guesting at the Mariinsky Theatre. What’s more, it was his first time dancing a principal role. Ever. Last season – his first as a professional dancer – he was dancing with English National Ballet’s corps de ballet, part of his prize after winning the Prix de Lausanne when he was 17, last year. My year with the … [Read more...] about Introducing 19-year-old Canadian dancer Shale Wagman: from Lausanne to ENB to the Mariinsky
Interview with Sergei Polunin – Verona’s new Romeo
On the eve of the debut of a new Romeo and Juliet at Verona’s Arena with choreography by Johan Kobborg and with Sergei Polunin and Alina Cojocaru in the title roles, Polunin talked with Vogue Italia’s Valentina Bonelli. The classics can often seem dated and today it can be difficult to relate to them. Instead, we are putting on stage an understandable and exciting story, … [Read more...] about Interview with Sergei Polunin – Verona’s new Romeo
