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questionnaires

Anastasia Bartoli answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… singers’ edition!

18 August 2023 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Anastasia Bartoli, photo by Ennevi Foto crop

Q&A When did you start singing? I have always sung, since I was a child, but I started to do it seriously when I was 23 years old. Why did you start singing? Singing has always been … [Read more...] about Anastasia Bartoli answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… singers’ edition!

Olga Peretyatko answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… singers’ edition!

13 August 2023 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Olga Peretyatko

Q&A When did you start singing?   My father is an opera singer – he still sings in the chorus – so when I was a little, I was always in the theatre! My first solo performance was at … [Read more...] about Olga Peretyatko answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… singers’ edition!

Raffaele Pe answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

24 November 2022 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Raffaele Pe, photo by Nicola Allegri_crop

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

Kevin Rhodes answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… conductors’ edition

25 February 2022 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Kevin Rhodes crop

When did you start playing an instrument? I was seven when I started piano lessons. I started to lead some musical theatre productions from the piano with a four-person combo when I was 14, also … [Read more...] about Kevin Rhodes answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… conductors’ edition

Anna Rose O’Sullivan answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

14 February 2022 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Anna Rose O'Sullivan as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty - photo by Helen Maybanks ROH 2019-crop

When did you start dancing? I started dancing around the age of 4 and I instantly fell in love with ballet. As a young child I would put performances on for my family using the fireplace hearth as … [Read more...] about Anna Rose O’Sullivan answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Virna Toppi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

6 April 2021 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Virna Toppi as Kitri, photo by Brescia e Amisano ©Teatro alla Scala

Q&A When did you start dancing?Immediately, as soon as I could stand. Why did you start dancing?Because I liked to feel at one with the music. Which dancer inspired you most as a child?No … [Read more...] about Virna Toppi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Yasmine Naghdi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

17 November 2020 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Yasmine Naghdi prepares for Gamzatti, photo by Dasa Wharton

When did you start dancing?Aged 2, on our coffee table at home. Why did you start dancing?To satisfy my urge to move all the time. I really had “ants in my pants”! Which dancer inspired you most … [Read more...] about Yasmine Naghdi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Jacquelyn Wagner answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

7 September 2020 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Jacquelyn Wagner photo by Harald Hoffmann 01

in italiano Q&A When did you start singing? I always sang as a kid – operatically, even though I had no idea what an opera was – and my parents encouraged me a lot. I started singing … [Read more...] about Jacquelyn Wagner answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Darcey Bussell answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

23 May 2020 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Darcey Bussell Dances Hollywood

Q&A When did you start dancing? At 5, in the Mercury Theatre behind where I lived in Notting Hill. Ballet Rambert used to use the studios as well. Why did you start dancing? I had knocked … [Read more...] about Darcey Bussell answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Ottavio Dantone answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Conductors’ Edition

15 May 2020 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Ottavio Dantone © Giulia Papetti

Q&A When did you start playing an instrument? When I was 4 years old, on a toy keyboard. Why did you start playing? I don’t know; I learned music by myself. Which musicians inspired you most … [Read more...] about Ottavio Dantone answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Conductors’ Edition

J’Nai Bridges answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

20 March 2020 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

J'Nai Bridges

Q&A When did you start singing? Age 5, in the church choir. Why did you start singing? It was way to best communicate. Which singer inspired you most when you were young? Whitney … [Read more...] about J’Nai Bridges answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Francesco Lanzillotta answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Conductors’ Edition

20 November 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Francesco Lanzillotta © Manuela Giusto 01

Q&A When did you start playing an instrument? I was 6 years old, and I started to study cello. Why did you start playing? My father is a cellist and my mother loves music, so that is why I … [Read more...] about Francesco Lanzillotta answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Conductors’ Edition

Federico Longhi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

12 November 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Federico Longhi 02

Q&A When did you start singing? When I was 6, in the chorus of my hometown in the Valle d’Aosta. A lady in my parish, Rita, invited me to sing and I was so happy... I looked forward to the … [Read more...] about Federico Longhi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Alessandro Macario answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

3 November 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Alessandro Macario in Coppélia by Roland Petit, Teatro San Carlo

Q&A   in italiano When did you start dancing? I started dancing when I was four. Why did you start dancing? My uncle was a dancer and ran a ballet school, so I’m sure that I began dancing … [Read more...] about Alessandro Macario answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Hui He answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

9 October 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Hui He at the close of a concert

When did you start singing? I always loved to sing since I was a child. I sang on every occasion, also during public events at school, where my maths teacher heard me and advised me to take singing … [Read more...] about Hui He answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Martina Arduino answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

17 June 2019 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Martina Arduino in Romeo and Juliet, photo Brescia e Amisano, Teatro alla Scala

Q&A in italiano When did you start dancing? I started dancing for fun when I was four, and more seriously when I was 11 after I was accepted to the Ballet School of La Scala’s Academy. Why … [Read more...] about Martina Arduino answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Paolo Bordogna answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… singers’ edition

10 June 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Paolo Bordogna crop

Q&A in italiano When did you start singing? On the staircase of my apartment building, there was an echo that added force to my voice; I listened to it as though it were my voice. It was … [Read more...] about Paolo Bordogna answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… singers’ edition

Angel Blue answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

6 May 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Angel Blue photographed by Michelle Dudley Photography crop

Q&A When did you start singing? When I was 6 years old. Why did you start singing? My Dad. Which singer inspired you most when you were young? My Dad, my sister, and Leontyne Price Which … [Read more...] about Angel Blue answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Isaac Hernández answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

7 February 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

On holiday in Tulum, Mexico

Q&A When did you start dancing? I was 8 years old. My father was teaching me in the backyard of our house. Why did you start dancing? We are a big family — 11 children — my parents had only … [Read more...] about Isaac Hernández answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Jeffrey Cirio answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

11 January 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Jeffrey Cirio by Karolina Kuras crop

Q&A When did you start dancing? I started dancing right around the age of nine. Why did you start dancing? My sister, Lia, was a student at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Our family had … [Read more...] about Jeffrey Cirio answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Lawrence Brownlee answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… singers’ edition!

3 August 2018 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Lawrence Brownlee, © Shervin Lainez

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 … [Read more...] about Lawrence Brownlee answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… singers’ edition!

Riccardo Frizza answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Conductors’ Edition

22 June 2018 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Riccardo Frizza © Merri Cyr

Q&A When did you start playing an instrument? I was five years old. Why did you start playing? Because I was given a little piano in my house. Which musician inspired you most when you were … [Read more...] about Riccardo Frizza answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Conductors’ Edition

George Gagnidze answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

5 June 2018 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

George Gagnidze by Dario Acosta (2)

Q&A   in italiano When did you start singing? When I was 13 or 14 I started singing Georgian and Russian folk songs with my sister who was played the piano. Why did you start singing? My father … [Read more...] about George Gagnidze answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Laurretta Summerscales answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

24 April 2018 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Laurretta Summerscales as Olga in Onegin with Jonah Cook at Bayerisches Staatsballett, photo by Wilfried Hösl

Q&A When did you start dancing? I started dancing at the age of 3 at my mothers dancing school Why did you start dancing? My mother wanted to give me as many opportunities in life to see what … [Read more...] about Laurretta Summerscales answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Amanda Majeski answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

17 April 2018 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Amanda Majeski, © Fay Fox 05

Q&A When did you start singing? I had my first solo in the 5th grade Christmas Concert, but I became more serious in high school. Why did you start singing? Well, it seemed to fit with my first … [Read more...] about Amanda Majeski answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Julien Favreau answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

24 March 2018 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Dionysos with Julien Favreau and Kateryna Shalkina, Shanghai 2012, photo Favreau

Q&A When did you start dancing? When I was about 7, in a very small ballet school in France where we were only 4 boys! Why did you start dancing? Maybe because my uncle was a DJ and I wanted … [Read more...] about Julien Favreau answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Lucas Meachem answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

10 March 2018 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Lucas Meachem © Simon Pauly 01

Q&A When did you start singing? There’s not a time I don’t remember singing in some capacity. Why did you start singing? I have a need to perform and to share my love of music with … [Read more...] about Lucas Meachem answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Maria José Siri answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

15 November 2017 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Portrait of Maria José Siri by Victor Santiago 2

Q&A   in italiano When did you start singing? I started as a young girl… for as long as I can remember. Why did you start singing? I started by accident. I was supposed to go to my saxophone … [Read more...] about Maria José Siri answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Franco Vassallo answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

5 November 2017 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Franco Vassallo

Q&A   in italiano When did you start singing? When I was 11 to a disc of Rigoletto with Gobbi, Callas and Di Stefano; a blanket on my shoulder and an umbrella served as my cloak and … [Read more...] about Franco Vassallo answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Lisette Oropesa answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

8 October 2017 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Lisette Oropesa, photo by Matthew Murphy

Q&A When did you start singing? We have a recording of me when I was three singing La via dolorosa, complete with background track. So it’s safe to say, I think, since I was a toddler. Why … [Read more...] about Lisette Oropesa answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

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GRAMILANO

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan, aka ‘Gramilano’. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times. He wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.

Since 2022, Gramilano is pleased to welcome guest authors: Alisa Alekseeva, Paul Arrowsmith, Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel, Jonathan Gray, Marina Harss, Matthew Paluch, Jann Parry, Graham Watts, and Deborah Weiss.

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