Rudolf Nureyev first staged Sleeping Beauty at La Scala in Milan and on 22 September 1966 the curtain went up on La Bella addormentata nel bosco with sets and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis. Nureyev was Prince Florimund and Aurora was Carla Fracci.
In 1989, Nureyev said,
“When I was first learning to dance in Ufa, my ballet master, who had belonged to the Kirov ballet, used to tell me that Sleeping Beauty was the “ballet of ballets”. And I couldn’t wait to try it. It was with the Kirov ballet that I later discovered what a glorious delight it was.”
interview
[Interview] The Royal Ballet’s Yasmine Naghdi: a time to reflect
I’ve interviewed The Royal Ballet’s principal ballerina Yasmine Naghdi several times over the past five years. The first time, she was a soloist and preparing to debut as Juliet with Matthew Ball as Romeo. The last time was 18-months ago, a few months after her debut in Swan Lake, a role she was scheduled to reprise this spring, but then The Royal Opera House closed its doors.
She is currently on holiday in my adopted homeland, Italy. However, while I’m in the north by the Ligurian Sea, Yasmine and her Italian boyfriend are in Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot. I spoke to her via Skype in early May and asked her whether she was with him in lockdown.
“We’re in quarantine in our flat. I think when we last spoke, it must have been early on in our relationship. We’re now coming up to two years together
In conversation with Marianela Nuñez
The Royal Ballet’s Argentinian principal dancer, Marianela Nuñez, is in lockdown in Buenos Aires. She went there to be near her family and partner, because now home, for Nela, is London, which also happens to be home to her beloved company at The Royal Opera House.
We caught up via Skype in June: I was in my office in Milan, and Nela was 11,000 km away, sitting against an orange wall which steadily turned maroon then almost black as the day drew in.
Lockdown in Argentina! How’s that working out?
It’s very strict here. We started lockdown at the same time as England, pretty much – I know you in Italy started earlier. There were only a few cases, but obviously here there are more difficulties compared to Europe, and they were worried that the health system would collapse.
[Interview] Meet Nikisha Fogo, San Francisco Ballet’s new Principal Dancer
Swedish ballerina Nikisha Fogo will soon take up a new position in a new company when she becomes a principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet. After seven years with the Vienna State Ballet, passing through the ranks from the corps de ballet to first soloist, director Manuel Legris’ decision to leave the company after ten years (he will take over at La Scala in December 2020) was a stimulus for her to move on.
When the Opera House in Vienna cancelled its performances from the 11 March, Fogo stayed in Vienna, not knowing whether it would be possible to finish the season, not being able to go home to Sweden, or on to San Francisco to find an apartment and settle in
Interview with The Royal Ballet’s Lauren Cuthbertson – so much passion
On 14 March 2020, The Royal Ballet’s principal dancer Lauren Cuthbertson was dancing Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. A rare honour. She was dancing with former Royal Ballet dancer and Mariinsky principal dancer Xander Parish and cheered on by her mother, her boyfriend and his parents. Two days later, they were returning to London on the Gatwick Express when a message arrived: Royal Ballet classes, rehearsals and performances were suspended with immediate effect because of the spread of the coronavirus.
I’d heard from friends in Europe and America that things were shutting down, so I knew what was coming. So we drove out of London, and now I’m in the countryside with my boyfriend and his parents. I’m lucky to have a garden – if I were in London, it would be a very different story.
Riccardo Chailly on life in the time of the coronavirus
My wife and I have spent our lives travelling, often returning home exhausted by the weight of bags of new books and music. I could only glance at this vast library as there was never enough time available. Now we have an oasis of calm in our family. It gives time to reflect and mature. Maturity is not something that comes automatically with age but by your ability to understand things. For me, this is very important. I have rejected many work offers because there wasn’t enough time.
I have daily telephone contacts with theatre management and musicians. We have talked a great deal and we are all very worried about the future.
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 yourself, and grow, and have the courage to be true to yourself. It leaves me vulnerable but, at the same time, strong. Also for me, art was always an anchor for me to cling on to during life’s difficult moments.
I think my approach to interpreting a character has remained the same, from Giselle to MacMillan’s ballets: real acting, without outsized gesturing. Two significant roles for Duse were Juliet and Marguerite Gautier, as they were for me. Another interesting coincidence is that Juliet was also her first important character.
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 […]
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 […]
Interview: The Royal Ballet’s Ballet Master, Christopher Carr, on mounting Coppélia, the company’s dancers and technique
Everyone who has followed The Royal Ballet in rehearsal during World Ballet Day or watched the interval clips and interviews during the intervals of the company’s live cinema relays will know Christopher Carr. The Royal Ballet’s Guest Principal Ballet Master isn’t afraid of raising his voice, clapping his hands loudly and stamping the floor with […]