The critics of the Italian magazine Danza&Danza (which also has an edition in English) huddle together at the beginning of each year to decided the ‘best’ of the previous year in Italian dance and dance seen in Italy. The jury, since 1987, has always underlined its objectivity and honesty in its selection of interpreters, productions […]
Christian Fagetti
Manuel Legris’ Sylvia shows La Scala’s dancers on top form
Sylvia opened the 2019-2020 ballet season at La Scala. It is a co-production with the Wiener Staatsballett where it opened in November 2018. There have been no changes to Luisa Spinatelli’s sets and costumes or Manuel Legris’ choreography, which suggests that everyone was pleased with how it turned out in Vienna. However, while the overall […]
Photo Album: First Night at La Scala with “Sylvia” in a New Production
Sylvia Photos of the opening night of Sylvia, with choreography by Manuel Legris, starring Martina Arduino, Claudio Coviello, Nicola Del Freo, Christian Fagetti, Maria Celeste Losa and company. Choreography Manuel Legris from Louis Mérante and others Dramaturgy and libretto Manuel Legris and Jean-François Vazelle from Jules Barbier and baron Jacques de Reinach Conductor Kevin Rhodes […]
Save the best until last – La Scala’s triple bill shows a company in excellent form
Save the best until last. Not a bad programming policy, and with La Scala’s recent triple bill, the last was Maurice Béjart’s Boléro. Obviously, with the first item on the programme being George Balanchine’s Symphony in C it can hardly be the best for many, but the Béjart is undoubtedly a crowd-pleaser and whoops and […]
Review: Giselle at La Scala with Zakharova/Hallberg, Manni/Andrijashenko, Valerio/Coviello
Giselle is one of La Scala Ballet’s international calling cards. Together with Nureyev’s Don Quixote, this production has been seen all over the world, and rightly so. The company dances it beautifully, and its staging by Yvette Chauviré (based, of course, on the Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot choreography) would be difficult to better. It is clearly told, the story points being so carefully prepared that focus is […]
In with the old – La Scala returns to Nureyev’s Sleeping Beauty
If there is a ballet that belongs to La Scala, it’s Rudolf Nureyev’s production of The Sleeping Beauty, created for the ballet company in 1966 with Carla Fracci and Nureyev in the main roles. It was performed 152 times until 2007, when Tchaikovsky’s score fell silent for eight years until awoken by Alexei Ratmansky when […]
McGregor’s Woolf Works thrills and enthralls at La Scala
The La Scala Ballet usually fields a first cast, and several alternative casts, but not with Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works – here it was very much a case of a first cast and a second cast. The first featured two guests from the original Royal Opera House production from 2015 – Alessandra Ferri and Federico […]
First photos of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works at La Scala with Alessandra Ferri, Federico Bonelli and Company dancers
These are the first photos of La Scala’s restaging of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works created for The Royal Ballet in 2015. The work was seen again in London in 2017, and in Milan, two of the original interpreters- Alessandra Ferri and Federico Bonelli – reprise their roles. The photos are accompanied by extracts of a […]
Winterreise at La Scala rejoices in Angelin Preljocaj’s sublimely melodic choreography
Winterreise is Angelin Preljocaj’s latest creation, danced to the complete Schubert cycle of Lieder. I stand by my arguments that a large theatre like La Scala is not the right theatre for a piece with just 13 dancers and two musicians, but let’s leave that aside — Winterreise is a beautifully crafted gem of dance […]
Photo Album: first look at Preljocaj’s new piece Winterreise for La Scala
Winterreise by Angelin Preljocaj New commission from Teatro alla Scala in Milan – runs from 24 January to 9 March 2019 Winterreise Franz Schubert Running Time: 1 hour 20 minutes Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company World Premiere Choreography Angelin Preljocaj Sets Constance Guisset Lights Eric Soyer Costumes Angelin Preljocaj MUSICIANS Bass-baritone Thomas Tatzl Piano James Vaughan DANCERS Antonella Albano, Alessandra Vassallo, […]
