Luisa Mandelli, Maria Callas' Annina at La Scala, died last night, just short of her 96th birthday. Daniel Barenboim called her the 'eternal Annina' having sung alongside Callas in Luchino Visconti's production of La traviata at La Scala under the baton of Carlo Maria Giulini. Mandelli was a constant presence in the theatre travelling on the metro from her home in Verdi's … [Read more...]
Atonal music to win the fight against German drunks?
Schoenberg on the metro? It will soon be a reality in Berlin, but not to calm passengers’ nerves... or grate on them. Drug dealers, drunks and the homeless are a problem in Berlin’s underground passages and Deutsche Bahn’s solution is to play atonal music to encourage them to leave. Schoenberg would have been disheartened – though maybe not surprised. The Nazi Party labelled … [Read more...]
Interview with Juan Diego Flórez who debuts in Ricciardo e Zoraide at Pesaro tonight
Twenty-two years ago, Juan Diego Flórez arrived like a meteorite across the opera firmament. A couple of weeks before his career launching performance, I’d met the young tenor in Milan. He’d flown over from Peru with a work visa just for a handful of days, and was heading to Pesaro to make his Italian debut. A fellow tenor said, “This one… he’s got all those high notes!” … [Read more...]
Lawrence Brownlee answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… singers’ edition!
Q&A When and why did you start singing? When I was a kid… I come from a musical family, and so music has always been a part of who I am. But I got serious about singing in high school when people told me girls would think I was cute. So my love for singing began there, really. Which singer inspired you most when you were young and which singer do you most admire? Oh gosh … [Read more...]
Interview with Angela Gheorghiu on Draculina, Kaufmann, capriciousness and corruption
The autobiography of outspoken soprano Angela Gheorghiu — Angela Gheorghiu: A Life for Art — comes out in October. Her candidness will obviously make for fascinating reading. In an interview with the Corriere della sera she was as unbuttoned as ever. If I am the black sheep of my profession because I have my own opinions and I react to unkindness. The Romanian soprano has a … [Read more...]