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 as Roberto Benigni and Andrea Bocelli for the third edition … [Read more...] about Interview with Roberto Bolle – I am more confident now, not just as an artist but also as a person
Andrea Bocelli
Renata Scotto on slapping a tenor, the divine Callas, and… Bocelli
Renata Scotto has never been one to hold her tongue and at 81 she doesn’t intend to start. In a recent interview for Italy’s Il Corriere della Sera, she was asked about Andrea Bocelli: He’s good when he’s singing pop music and he’s achieved a popularity that’s perfect for the masses. He shouldn’t, however, grapple with opera. Which is, of course, what many of her colleagues … [Read more...] about Renata Scotto on slapping a tenor, the divine Callas, and… Bocelli
Businessman gives Rome Opera a million euros
The Rome Opera, which is emerging from a period of great economic difficulty, has been offered a gulp of oxygen by businessman Francis Yeoh, who has given the theatre a million euros. Yeoh runs YTL, a Malaysian infrastructure conglomerate which is an international utilities company, operating principally in England and Asia, with hotel chains, energy companies and building … [Read more...] about Businessman gives Rome Opera a million euros
Diana Damrau and René Pape at La Scala: deaf-aids, lecterns and the Samsung whistle
Why are La Scala’s recitals like buses? No, it’s not a joke, but after four-months of opera and ballet, there have been two in a week. Once there used to be a recital every month, now recitals at La Scala have become gap fillers, and filling the gaps this week were Diana Damrau and René Pape. Damrau had gamely participated in the open-air Expo concert with Andrea Bocelli … [Read more...] about Diana Damrau and René Pape at La Scala: deaf-aids, lecterns and the Samsung whistle
600% bounses for La Scala’s musicians but Chailly isn’t happy
You may have already read about the refusal of some La Scala workers to perform Turandot on 1 May being that it is the International Workers' Day. However, it is also the opening day of the Milan Expo, and I doubt that the hotels, restaurants, taxis and other services will be refusing to work. The situation was resolved at the last minute and will go ahead with substantial … [Read more...] about 600% bounses for La Scala’s musicians but Chailly isn’t happy
Bridgett Zehr answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition
Q&A When did you start dancing? When I was 7 years old. Why did you start dancing? I was part of the free lunch program at school and my sister and I got a flyer about a ballet school audition called Dance: The Next Generation. It was aimed at underprivileged children to give us a goal and focus. Because my mother was a dancer when she was younger, she sent both … [Read more...] about Bridgett Zehr answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition
$50,000 tickets to hear Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli brings Celebrity Fight Night to Italy. Bocelli has been involved with Muhammad Ali's charity for years, but this will be the first time that the event has been seen outside America. For $50,000 a head each 'guest' will be flown from the States to Pisa for a six-day break in Tuscany, lunch with the Marques De Frescobaldi, dinner at the home of Roberto Cavalli, … [Read more...] about $50,000 tickets to hear Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli’s a true star
In 2010 Andrea Bocelli was given a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, but now he's been given a real star. Galileo Galileo’s Istoria e dimostrazioni intorno alle macchie solari e loro accidenti (“History and Demonstrations Concerning Sunspots and Their Properties,” or “Letters on Sunspots”), appeared in 1613. A group of amateur astronomers are celebrating its 400th … [Read more...] about Andrea Bocelli’s a true star
Pavarotti water, Bocelli wine, now Britten beer
San Pellegrino teamed up with the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation to create special bottles of Big Lucy mineral water. Andrea Bocelli, together with brother Alberto, produce a range of wines from the family home in Lajatico, near Pisa. Now, demonstrating that this isn't just a tenor tendency, Aldeburgh Music's Chief Executive, Jonathan Reekie, has commissioned a Benjamin Britten … [Read more...] about Pavarotti water, Bocelli wine, now Britten beer
Andrea Bocelli’s Tuscan wines go on sale in the US at $20 a bottle
Around Andrea Bocelli's family home in Lajatico, in the province of Pisa, Andrea and his brother Alberto, who is more directly involved, are pursuing work to improve the wines and the family tradition. A work done, as Andrea says, in honour of the memory of their father, Alessandro, who in his time passionately cultivated the vines planted by his grandfather in the Tuscan … [Read more...] about Andrea Bocelli’s Tuscan wines go on sale in the US at $20 a bottle