The Royal Opera House has announced that Speranza Scappucci will become Principal Guest Conductor of The Royal Opera. She will take up the position in September 2025, at the start of the 2025-2026 … [Read more...] about Italian conductor Speranza Scappucci to become Principal Guest Conductor at the Royal Opera
music & opera
Darell Moulton – piano expert and singing teacher – has died at the age of 79
Darell Moulton, one of the UK’s top piano experts and singing teachers, has died at the age of 79 after living with motor neurone disease. Darell was an extraordinary human being who I was proud to … [Read more...] about Darell Moulton – piano expert and singing teacher – has died at the age of 79
Lawrence Brownlee’s new album, Rising, is out tomorrow
Rising, Lawrence Brownlee’s new album, sees the tenor commission six of today’s leading African American composers to set poetry from the Harlem Renaissance to song. Warner Classics releases the album … [Read more...] about Lawrence Brownlee’s new album, Rising, is out tomorrow
The Florence opera house to sell its vast archive to avoid closure
The Maggio Musicale in Florence may sell off its large archive in a desperate attempt to find €8.5m by July, part of a huge debt left behind after Alexander Pereira resigned last February. Without … [Read more...] about The Florence opera house to sell its vast archive to avoid closure
La Scala Opera Season 2023-2024
The 2023-2024 Opera Season of the Teatro alla Scala will present 14 productions, 10 of which are new: 2 operas by Giuseppe Verdi and 2 by Giacomo Puccini, and one opera each by Antonio Cesti, Luigi … [Read more...] about La Scala Opera Season 2023-2024
Gustavo Dudamel to leave the Paris Opera at end of 22/23 season
The Paris Opera has announced that Gustavo Dudamel will resign as Music Director at the end of the 2022/2023 season for personal reasons. It is with a heavy heart, and after long consideration, … [Read more...] about Gustavo Dudamel to leave the Paris Opera at end of 22/23 season
Royal Opera House announces 2023-2024 opera and ballet Cinema Season
The Royal Opera House has announced its next Cinema Season with 13 productions, eight of which will be broadcast to screens around the world. The season begins in September when Music Director of … [Read more...] about Royal Opera House announces 2023-2024 opera and ballet Cinema Season
[Interview] Riccardo Frizza conducts the Verdi Requiem on the 150th anniversary of Manzoni’s death
Alessandro Manzoni died in Milan on 22 May 1873, 150 years ago. The Milanese poet, novelist and philosopher is famous for his novel I promessi sposi (The Betrothed, 1827), which is full of … [Read more...] about [Interview] Riccardo Frizza conducts the Verdi Requiem on the 150th anniversary of Manzoni’s death
[Interview] Conductor Henrik Nánási – immersing himself in the music
The Hungarian conductor Henrik Nánási will be conducting Rusalka at the Bayerische Staatsoper from 14 May, but his international career, and wide-ranging repertoire, will soon see him taking off … [Read more...] about [Interview] Conductor Henrik Nánási – immersing himself in the music
The bizarre story of Italian opera house musical chairs – Meyer, Fuortes, Lissner
An Italian story… Carlo Fuortes was brought in to manage the Rome Opera House at Christmas in 2013 when the theatre was on the verge of closing with a €32m debt. He overhauled the working practices … [Read more...] about The bizarre story of Italian opera house musical chairs – Meyer, Fuortes, Lissner
[Interview] Russian baritone Aleksei Isaev: Music is not politics
Guest author Alisa Alekseeva talks to Russian baritone Aleksei Isaev Russian opera singer Aleksei Isaev regularly sings at the major European theatres. Last month he finished a run of performances … [Read more...] about [Interview] Russian baritone Aleksei Isaev: Music is not politics
[Interview] Talking with soprano Eleonora Buratto about Hoffmann, perfume and spumante
The current run of Les contes d’Hoffmann at La Scala sees soprano Eleonora Buratto making her debut as Antonia. After the opening night, I asked her how she was settling into her new role. It's a … [Read more...] about [Interview] Talking with soprano Eleonora Buratto about Hoffmann, perfume and spumante
An interview with soprano Virginia Zeani, 1925 – 2023
Virginia Zeani: 21 October 1925 – 20 March 2023 In 2015, when the soprano Virginia Zeani was 90, I was asked to interview her, and we enjoyed (yes, we laughed a lot) a long video call where … [Read more...] about An interview with soprano Virginia Zeani, 1925 – 2023
[Review] Gian Carlo Menotti celebrated in Italy with The Medium and The Telephone
The Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti is celebrated far more outside Italy than in his homeland, with his works being especially popular in the US. The (in)famous Italian critic Paolo Isotta wrote … [Read more...] about [Review] Gian Carlo Menotti celebrated in Italy with The Medium and The Telephone
Two new opera recordings to be released by Warner Classics/Erato
Two new opera recordings are to be released by Warner Classics/Erato later this month. Turandot The recording of Turandot, which is released on 10 March 2023, marks a number of important firsts. … [Read more...] about Two new opera recordings to be released by Warner Classics/Erato
LaScalaTv, La Scala’s new streaming platform, is now live
Yesterday was the first live stream from LaScalaTv (of I Vespri siciliani with a superb cast) and other operas, ballets, concerts and recitals will follow. La Scala has been building up a catalogue … [Read more...] about LaScalaTv, La Scala’s new streaming platform, is now live
[Interview] In conversation with Italian tenor Piero Pretti as he returns to La Scala for another debut
A new production of I Vespri Siciliani by Argentinian director Hugo de Ana – who has also designed the sets and costumes – opens at La Scala this evening, 28 January 2023. The performance will be … [Read more...] about [Interview] In conversation with Italian tenor Piero Pretti as he returns to La Scala for another debut
Franco Zeffirelli – The La Scala Years: an exhibition in Milan
Franco Zeffirelli was born in Florence on 12 January 1923. Teatro alla Scala anticipates the celebration of the great director's centenary with the exhibition “Franco Zeffirelli - The La Scala Years" … [Read more...] about Franco Zeffirelli – The La Scala Years: an exhibition in Milan
In Memoriam 2022: Singers, Dancers, Actors, Writers, Directors
In memoriam 2022: a personal list of some of the artists the world lost in 2022 NameDatesAgeDescriptionMax Riebl26 June 1991 - 30 April 202230Australian countertenorOleksandr Shapoval9 … [Read more...] about In Memoriam 2022: Singers, Dancers, Actors, Writers, Directors
1.5 million television spectators for Boris Godunov at La Scala
An opera in Russian, with a 6pm starting time, attracted one and a half million viewers (over 9% of the share) on Italian television. Certainly something of a success for La Scala's season opening … [Read more...] about 1.5 million television spectators for Boris Godunov at La Scala
La Scala’s glitzy season opening with Boris Godunov: Protests, Putin and politicians
This evening the curtain goes up at La Scala on the opera to open the season, Boris Godunov. Ukrainians asked for the Russian opera to be replaced. Then the idea emerged that the opera could be … [Read more...] about La Scala’s glitzy season opening with Boris Godunov: Protests, Putin and politicians
Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov on Boris Godunov, his 89th performance at La Scala
The Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov will be Boris Godunov for the opening of Milan’s opera season on 7 December 2022. It will be Abdrazakov’s 89th appearance on La Scala’s stage and his seventh time … [Read more...] about Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov on Boris Godunov, his 89th performance at La Scala
[Review] Italian countertenor Raffaele Pe’s exuberant Purcell recital
Italian countertenor Raffaele Pe has had somewhat of a slow-burning career. He’s now 37 and a father of three, yet his first professional engagement was just eight years ago. The late start seems to … [Read more...] about [Review] Italian countertenor Raffaele Pe’s exuberant Purcell recital
Michael Fabiano’s ArtSmart online auction to raise funds for youth music education
ArtSmart was started in 2015, founded by the opera singers Michael Fabiano and John Viscardi. Its aim is to “transform the lives of youth in under-resourced communities across the United States” … [Read more...] about Michael Fabiano’s ArtSmart online auction to raise funds for youth music education
Raffaele Pe answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A When did you start singing? I never started – I just did it! Why did you start singing? I cannot imagine human life without, as Plato would say… Which singer inspired you most … [Read more...] about Raffaele Pe answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Ukrainian children’s choir rehearses in a bomb shelter before its New York concert
The Shchedryk Children’s Choir from Ukraine has been rehearsing in a bomb shelter for its concert at Carnegie Hall in New York in December. After the recent increase in missile strikes in Kyiv the … [Read more...] about Ukrainian children’s choir rehearses in a bomb shelter before its New York concert
[Review] Cecilia Bartoli is Alcina in Florence, displaying the pinnacle of her art
TitleAlcinaCompanyMaggio Musicale FiorentinoVenueTeatro del MaggioDate26 October 2022ReviewerGraham Spicer Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence has restaged Cecilia Bartoli’s 2019 Salzburg hit, … [Read more...] about [Review] Cecilia Bartoli is Alcina in Florence, displaying the pinnacle of her art
Dischi Fenice – a hidden jewel in the heart of Florence, for music and…
A Google search will tell you that Dischi Fenice is a ‘record store’, but it is so much more than that. One of a disappearing breed of shops, it sells CDs, LPs and DVDs, it’s true, but it is also … [Read more...] about Dischi Fenice – a hidden jewel in the heart of Florence, for music and…
Angelina Jolie to play Maria Callas in biopic
Angelina Jolie will play Maria Callas in a film by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín, known for the 2021 film Spencer, one of several of his Oscar-nominated films The biopic will focus on Callas’s … [Read more...] about Angelina Jolie to play Maria Callas in biopic
[Review] The Met’s Medea – a tour de force performance from Radvanovsky
Guest author Jonathan Gray sees the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Medea TitleMedeaCompanyThe Metropolitan OperaVenueMetropolitan Opera House, Lincoln CenterDate8 October … [Read more...] about [Review] The Met’s Medea – a tour de force performance from Radvanovsky
