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Brecht

Italian singer Milva has died at 81 – a career from pop to Berio

24 April 2021 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

1989 concert with Zoltan Peskó, photo by Lelli e Masotti © Teatro alla Scala-crop

Yesterday, Italy lost one of its greatest singers of popular music, Milva, a singer who interpreted Brecht (working with Giorgio Strehler at Milan’s Piccolo Teatro), collaborated many times with Astor … [Read more...] about Italian singer Milva has died at 81 – a career from pop to Berio

Zubin Mehta reflects on a life in music on the eve of his 85th birthday

11 April 2021 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Zubin Mehta, photo Brescia e Amisano

Zubin Mehta was rehearsing Così fan tutte in his beloved Florence, where he has collaborated for almost 60 years. I love this city, I am now part of the furniture. Intendent [Alexander] Pereira … [Read more...] about Zubin Mehta reflects on a life in music on the eve of his 85th birthday

Riccardo Chailly and Irina Brook bring Brecht and Weill back to La Scala

15 March 2021 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Lindsey Kate, photo by Rosetta Greek

On March 18 at 8 pm CET, Riccardo Chailly conducts Die sieben Tosdsünden ("The Seven Deadly Sins") and Mahagonny Songspiel in a live-streamed performance from La Scala. The Kurt Weill double bill … [Read more...] about Riccardo Chailly and Irina Brook bring Brecht and Weill back to La Scala

Evan McKie answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

6 December 2012 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Q&A When did you start dan­cing? In the womb. Why did you start dan­cing? I will probably never know the answer to that. I just know why I keep doing it. Which dan­cer inspired you most … [Read more...] about Evan McKie answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Igor Yebra answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

17 October 2012 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Q&A When did you start dancing? When I was 13 years old. Why did you start dancing? Because I liked it and in my house it was something normal to see ballet; although first I wanted to be a … [Read more...] about Igor Yebra answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

The Mikhailovsky Theatre opens its new season tonight with Semionova and Gomes in Giselle

13 September 2012 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Tonight the Mikhailovsky Theatre opens its 2012-2013 season with Polina Semionova dancing the eponymous heroine in Giselle. Semionova left to join the Berlin Staatsoper immediately after graduating … [Read more...] about The Mikhailovsky Theatre opens its new season tonight with Semionova and Gomes in Giselle

So does Ute Lemper approve of Angela Merkel? Nein!

24 August 2012 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Ute Lemper is touring Europe with her cabaret programme which includes material by that most political of  theatre writers, Bertolt Brecht. Lemper herself has always been outspoken about her views, … [Read more...] about So does Ute Lemper approve of Angela Merkel? Nein!

Giuseppe Picone answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

8 February 2012 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Q&A When did you start dan­cing? I started when I was 10 years old at the Teatro San Carlo ballet school in Naples. Why did you start dan­cing? My elder brother Raffaele took me to the … [Read more...] about Giuseppe Picone answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Vito Mazzeo answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

15 January 2012 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Q&A When did you start dan­cing? At 9 years old. Why did you start dan­cing? I saw Carla Fracci dancing. Which dan­cer inspired you most as a child? Carla Fracci and Erik Bruhn for their … [Read more...] about Vito Mazzeo answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Paul Chalmer answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

27 December 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Q&A When did you start dancing? Age 6, then National Ballet School, Toronto, age 9. Why did you start dancing? Saw ballet on TV. Which dancer inspired you most as a … [Read more...] about Paul Chalmer answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Ornella Vanoni wows the Milanese audience at the MITO Festival

6 September 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

"Le canzoni della Mala" are songs about the Milanese underworld, most of which originated in the 50s when the great Italian theatre director Giorgio Strehler realised that Milan lacked a tradition of … [Read more...] about Ornella Vanoni wows the Milanese audience at the MITO Festival

Private video surfaces of the anti-Israel protest at the BBC Proms concert

3 September 2011 by Gramilano 1 Comment

A member of the audience filmed the disturbances at Zubin Mehta's 75th Birthday Prom with the Israel Philharmonic, which led the BBC to take its live radio broadcast off the air. The anti-Israel … [Read more...] about Private video surfaces of the anti-Israel protest at the BBC Proms concert

Russian playwright Yuri Lyubimov quits theatre company after half a century

27 June 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Russian playwright Yuri Lyubimov has left the theatre company he has led for nearly 50 years. Lyubimov, 93, founded Moscow's Taganka Theatre in 1964 but fell out with its actors over pay during a … [Read more...] about Russian playwright Yuri Lyubimov quits theatre company after half a century

Italian dancer Vito Mazzeo is promoted to principal with the San Francisco Ballet

24 June 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

At the end of his first year with the San Francisco Ballet, Italian ballet dancer Vito Mazzeo has been promoted to the role of principal dancer. Mazzeo is a product of the school of the Teatro alla … [Read more...] about Italian dancer Vito Mazzeo is promoted to principal with the San Francisco Ballet

The most luxurious exercise in Giselle compare and contrast since Natalia Makarova and Gelsey Kirkland danced the role at ABT on consecutive nights in 1977

30 May 2011 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Alastair Macaulay for the New York Times writes: A double climax occurred on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Metropolitan Opera House when the two most idolized interpreters of the title role … [Read more...] about The most luxurious exercise in Giselle compare and contrast since Natalia Makarova and Gelsey Kirkland danced the role at ABT on consecutive nights in 1977

Musical chairs at the ABT

26 May 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Changes in casting of male roles at American Ballet Theatre continues. The Royal Ballet's Johan Kobborg will make his first appearance with Ballet Theatre as a guest artist at Saturday’s matinee of … [Read more...] about Musical chairs at the ABT

‘Seven Deadly Sins’ coming back at the New York City Ballet Spring Gala

6 May 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Balanchine’s ballet “Seven Deadly Sins,” with Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weil’s libretto and score, was premièred by the New York City Ballet in 1958. Balanchine had created a first version of the work … [Read more...] about ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ coming back at the New York City Ballet Spring Gala

After 500 years the Romans finally give Lorenzo Lotto his dues

3 April 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Living in Covent Garden with London's National Gallery on my doorstep, I often used its galleries as a useful shortcut between Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. As the gallery has free entrance … [Read more...] about After 500 years the Romans finally give Lorenzo Lotto his dues

The Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome celebrates Lorenzo Lotto

4 March 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

The Italian capital is hosting an exhibition of masterpieces by 16th-century artist Lorenzo Lotto, whose distinctive paintings have enjoyed an upsurge in popularity over recent decades. The … [Read more...] about The Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome celebrates Lorenzo Lotto

Elier Bourzac and four other Cuban ballet dancers remain in Canada after tour

4 March 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

A principal dancer with the Cuban National Ballet, Elier Bourzac, is one of five company members who declined to return home with the troupe after its triumphant first appearance in Montreal last … [Read more...] about Elier Bourzac and four other Cuban ballet dancers remain in Canada after tour

Anna Nicole’s breasts loom largely on the Royal Opera House stage – “I’ll eat my six-gallon hat if it’s not a stonking great hit.”

18 February 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

"The sad but true story of Anna Nicole Smith, a two-bit, surgically enhanced American stripper, nude model and C-list celebrity who married an 89-year-old billionaire and ended up, at the age of 39, … [Read more...] about Anna Nicole’s breasts loom largely on the Royal Opera House stage – “I’ll eat my six-gallon hat if it’s not a stonking great hit.”

Sergei Polunin triumphs in Giselle at the Royal Opera House

13 January 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Judith Mackrell in The Guardian finds much to praise in 21-year-old Sergei Polunin's Albrecht: Physically, Polunin could not be more ideal for the role. With his wide poet's forehead, slender build … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin triumphs in Giselle at the Royal Opera House

The Maestro and Madonna – it must be the date from hell

4 January 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

From Norman Lebrecht's excellent blog 'Slipped Disc: I had to read this twice to make sure the hangover hadn't turned into a Bruckner nightmare, but even in the cold light of day it appears that the … [Read more...] about The Maestro and Madonna – it must be the date from hell

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NEWS

La Scala Ballet Season 2023-2024

La Scala Opera Season 2023-2024

Gustavo Dudamel to leave the Paris Opera at end of 22/23 season

Royal Opera House announces 2023-2024 opera and ballet Cinema Season

Royal Ballet’s three one-act ballets – Wayne McGregor (world premiere) | Wheeldon | MacMillan

The bizarre story of Italian opera house musical chairs – Meyer, Fuortes, Lissner

Blake Works V – La Scala presents a new work from William Forsythe – “You can get a lot done with calm.”

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s summer bill: Apollo – Interlinked – ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café

@giselle – a modern reimagining

Northern Ballet presents Federico Bonelli’s first season as Artistic Director 2023/2024

FEATURED POSTS

Coppélia with Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nunez, photo by Bill Cooper ROH

Interview: The Royal Ballet’s Ballet Master, Christopher Carr, on mounting Coppélia, the company’s dancers and technique

Romeo and Juliet with Sergei Polunin

Sergei Polunin on sex change, his new girlfriend, and manning up

Joyce DiDonato answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Jakub Józef Orliński

In conversation with Jakub Józef Orliński

Luca Pisaroni as Leporello in Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne   photo by Bill Cooper

In conversation with Luca Pisaroni: back to Milan with his La Scala debut

franco fagioli © thibault stipal, 2014

Franco Fagioli answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

The Tricks of the Trocks: powder, ice and pointe shoes

Yasmine Naghdi in rehearsal for Tarantella, The Royal Ballet © 2017 ROH. Photograph by Bill Cooper

[Interview] The Royal Ballet’s Yasmine Naghdi: a time to reflect

Maurice Béjart's Gaîté parisienne with Marijn Rademaker photo by Stuttgarter Ballet

Dutch National Ballet’s Marijn Rademaker on injury and recovery

English National Ballet in Derek Deane's Swan Lake, photo by ASH, Arnaud Stephenson, 2013

Derek Deane on 20 years of his Swan Lake ‘in the round’

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.

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