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Gramilano

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*music & opera

Aged 97, Franco Zeffirelli will stage a new production of Rigoletto

7 November 2018 by gramilano 2 Comments

At 95, Franco Zeffirelli is returning to the opera house to direct a new production of Rigoletto. The opera will open in September 2020 at the Royal Opera House in Muscat when the Zeffirelli will be 97. The theatre’s director, Umberto Fanni, announced the news from Zeffirelli’s glorious villa on Rome’s via Appia Antica. His last production was a Don Giovanni for the Arena in … [Read more...] about Aged 97, Franco Zeffirelli will stage a new production of Rigoletto

Interview with Anna Netrebko on her son, his autism and his abandonment by his father Erwin Schrott

1 March 2018 by gramilano 4 Comments

Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov in cover art for the Romanza album

Anna Netrebko, soon after her performances of Andrea Chénier at La Scala, talked about her son, his autism and the abandonment by his father, bass-baritone Erwin Schrott. When I realized that Tiago was a child who was different from the others I was desperate. My best friend's son had the same problem, though his condition was worse. I said to myself: my God, how will we get … [Read more...] about Interview with Anna Netrebko on her son, his autism and his abandonment by his father Erwin Schrott

Interview with tenor Lawrence Brownlee on being a black man in America: Cycles of My Being

20 February 2018 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Lawrence Brownlee, © Shervin Lainez

A new song cycle exploring the realities of life as a black man in America will receive its world premiere performance with Opera Philadelphia tonight, then in Chicago at the DuSable Museum of African American History on 22 February, and the Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall on 24 April. Cycles of My Being is commissioned by Opera Philadelphia, Carnegie Hall, and Lyric Unlimited, … [Read more...] about Interview with tenor Lawrence Brownlee on being a black man in America: Cycles of My Being

La Scala remembers Dmitri Hvorostovsky who has died at 55

22 November 2017 by gramilano 2 Comments

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, La Scala recital 23 November 1992, photo by Lelli e Masotti crop

Teatro alla Scala has learnt with profound sorrow of the loss, after a long illness, of the baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Born in Krasnoyarsk in 1962, Hvorostovsky was one of the most esteemed voices and one of the most charismatic interpreters of the last decades in a repertoire ranging from Verdi to Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky. At La Scala he debuted in 1992 with a recital … [Read more...] about La Scala remembers Dmitri Hvorostovsky who has died at 55

Stunning photos from La Scala archives celebrate Raina Kabaivanska’s return to the theatre

3 November 2017 by gramilano Leave a Comment

1980 Tosca photo by Lelli e Masotti

As part of the Great Voices at La Scala series, Raina Kabaivanska will be interviewed Sabino Lenoci and Giancarlo Landini of Italy’s L’Opera magazine in the theatre at 4pm, Saturday 4 November. After the success of Puccini’s Tabarro in 1959 with Piero Cappuccilli at Vercelli’s Teatro Civico, Kabaivanska started out on her triumphant international career. Her … [Read more...] about Stunning photos from La Scala archives celebrate Raina Kabaivanska’s return to the theatre

Top opera singers discuss how they choose and prepare new roles

20 October 2017 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Gregory Kunde as Otello, photo by Matthias Baus, Teatro alla Scala 2015

Opera singing is a high-wire profession. Only the most tone-deaf will not wince when a note is off. It is all too obvious when part of a role lies too high, or too low or, indeed, hovers too much around the centre of the voice, for a particular singer. Audiences reach out in empathy when a singer arrives ‘sung out’ at the end of an opera… or prepare to boo. Dancers, and … [Read more...] about Top opera singers discuss how they choose and prepare new roles

Vampires are taking over the opera house

17 October 2017 by gramilano Leave a Comment

2 1 dracula

When the Royal Swedish Opera announced their “Night of the Vampires” dress rehearsal event on Facebook on 15 September, it became clear that there is a major popular culture interest in vampires. In the invitation people were asked to “come dressed to match you most beautiful inner vampire” – in only a few hours every seat had been booked. The world premiere of Dracula … [Read more...] about Vampires are taking over the opera house

Maria Callas in newly restored photos from the La Scala archive

13 September 2017 by gramilano 2 Comments

Maria Callas at La Scala, recording Il trovatore in 1956

"Silence - Recording in Progress" reads the sign, as Maria Callas arrives at La Scala to record Il trovatore in 1956. More than any other theatre, Callas is linked with the great opera house in Milan. She recorded many of the 'studio' recordings there when the theatre was closed for the summer break, and gave some of her most memorable performances on its famous stage at the … [Read more...] about Maria Callas in newly restored photos from the La Scala archive

A box in the Royal Albert Hall goes for £2.76m

29 May 2017 by gramilano 1 Comment

ALBERT MEMORIAL AND THE NORTH ENTRANCE TO THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL © Marcus Ginns

Jim Ratcliffe, the 64-year-old 'British chemical engineer turned financier and industrialist' - and, according to Forbes, is worth around 10 billion dollars - has bought a box in the Royal Albert Hall for £2.76m. There are 849 years remaining on the lease. That investment doesn't give him exclusive use however: he will be able to attend about two-thirds of the Hall's … [Read more...] about A box in the Royal Albert Hall goes for £2.76m

Thomas Hampson answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

6 May 2017 by gramilano 3 Comments

Thomas Hampson by Jiyang Chen

Q&A When did you start singing?  In the crib. Apparently, I was a very vocal baby … no seriously, I already sang as a child. Why did you start singing? I loved tunes and music always made sense to me. Which singer inspired you most when you were young? Frank Sinatra. Which singer do you most admire? Giuseppe de Luca for pure vocalism and Tito Gobbi for why … [Read more...] about Thomas Hampson answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

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Gramilano newsletter 2019

Referred-to-by

Graham Spicer

Writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like.

I was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. My scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times. I write the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.

You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or follow my Facebook page.

News

  • Colleagues support Vittorio Grigolo as he replies to being fired by the Royal Opera House and the Met
  • La Scala stages an evening of ballet to raise funds to aid the flooded Teatro Fenice in Venice
  • Karen Kain to Retire as Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada
  • Dancing Times, November 2019 edition – with Gramilano’s Danza in Italia column including Sleeping Beauty at La Scala and Pink Floyd in Verona
  • Rome Opera Ballet names its main dance studio after the late Elisabetta Terabust
  • Alberto Testa – Italian dancer, choreographer, teacher and writer – has died at 96
  • Tenor Marcello Giordani has died at 56
  • David Hallberg becomes Principal Guest Artist of The Royal Ballet in the 2019/2020 Season
  • Vittorio Grigolo comments on recent accusations after a triumphant performance at La Scala
  • La Scala remembers Jessye Norman in words and pictures

Popular Music & Opera Posts

  • Cecilia Bartoli: "Contemporary composers can't write for opera singers like me"
  • Dmitri Hvorostovsky postpones recitals for further brain tumour treatment
  • Vittorio Grigolo on his last meeting with Pavarotti and on finding his siblings
  • 100 years after the riot: The Rite of Spring by those who were there
  • Luca Pisaroni answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
  • Maria Callas in newly restored photos from the La Scala archive
  • Interview with tenor Lawrence Brownlee on being a black man in America: Cycles of My Being
  • Overwhelming applause for Gruberova and her queens at La Scala
  • Unseen photos: Maria Callas at La Scala
  • Stunning photos from La Scala archives celebrate Raina Kabaivanska’s return to the theatre



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