Interview: Rosalind Plowright looks back on her 50-year career
Rosalind Plowright looks back at her 50-year career with Paul Arrowsmith before a run as Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera at Opera Holland Park from 25 July.
Covent Garden
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Mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig has died at 93
The German opera singer Christa Ludwig, died on Saturday 24 April at the age of 93 in Klosterneuburg, Austria, where she lived.
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“Maria Callas on stage-the La Scala Years” at La Scala’s Museum extended until 31 March
The exhibition “Maria Callas on stage-the La Scala Years” at La Scala’s Museum has been extended until 31 March. Since 15 September over 90,000 visitors have seen the exhibition, curated by theatre designer Margherita Palli. It is dedicated to the Milanese years of the great soprano with 14 original costumes and a selection of sketches…
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dance | design | music & opera
Luisa Spinatelli – celebrating the life of the Milanese opera and ballet designer
Luisa Spinatelli… taking tasteful to a higher dimension The Amici della Scala (Friends of La Scala), run by the indefatigable Anna Crespi, gathered together at the association’s spectacular headquarters, a short walk from La Scala, to celebrate one of Italy’s most important theatre designers. Luisa Spinatelli is one of a tight-knit core of Milanese artists,…
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Chris Merritt’s brave plea for help
Chris Merritt has written a heartfelt plea for financial aid on gofundme.com – he is asking fans and friends to help kick-start his career. Dear Ones, near and far…..I am turning to this entrepreneurial undertaking as a way to finance my career back into functionality. Due to very unfortunate managerial problems, my career has experienced a terrible…
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dance | design | music & opera
The Royal Opera House’s £27m ‘open up’ project to go ahead
The £27m scheme to ‘open up’ the Royal Opera House in London has been given the go ahead by Westminster City Council. The plans will make the entrances and street-level public spaces of the Opera House more open and inviting to the public. Alex Beard, the Chief Executive of Covent Garden, said, The ‘Open Up’ project aims…
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Alessandra Ferri’s pain at being rejected and joy at being reborn
The word “comeback” isn’t one I like; what I am doing is going ahead. These years off stage have taught me that I can’t live without dance. I am fully realised only when I dance. Alessandra Ferri is in Florence to dance Roland Petit‘s Le jeune homme et la mort, one of her many projects since…
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Renato Cioni’s last interview: remembering Callas
Renato Cioni, who died today, left at interview just a few months ago, talking to Stephen Hastings, the editor of the Italian magazine Musica. Hastings asked him about the London Tosca with Maria Callas fifty years earlier. Two years before singing with Callas, I’d written her a letter, saying that I’d be the happiest man…
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Callas and Sutherland’s tenor – Renato Cioni – dies at 84
Renato Cioni, the great Tuscan tenor, died today in his home town of Portoferraio, on the island of Elba, where he was born almost 85 years ago. His career took off in the mid 1950s when he sang in a television production of Madama Butterfly with Anna Moffo, and Pinkerton was the role with which he made his début…
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The maestro’s nose: Fabio Luisi is making smells
A silly title, to grab your attention, about the very serious hobby of one of the world’s top conductors: Fabio Luisi creates perfumes. Luisi’s pastime has recently taken on a more professional aspect, as he’s decided to sell his creations commercially: FL Parfums. All proceeds, however, will go to the Luisi Academy. But more of that…
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Sergei Polunin on bringing Mayerling to Moscow, and dancing until 50
Sergei Polunin, who famously defected from the Royal Ballet just over a year ago, has found a home at the Stanislavsky theatre, and fame through winning a television dance competition. Settling down after his semi-breakdown, he is demonstrating the value of the Royal Ballet School and Company by returning to partner Tamara Rojo in her farewell…
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Mark S Doss answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A When did you start singing? I was in the 5th grade when the music teacher, Mrs Mapson, asked me to sing the Wells Fargo Wagon song from Music Man. She heard me sing it back to her and then exclaimed, “Wow, that’s beautiful! You could go to New York right now and make a…
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Svetlana Zakharova: I want to go out and dance forever!
Svetlana Zakharova talked to Russia’s Izvestia yesterday about her latest projects, including bringing Frederick Ashton‘s Marguerite and Armand to the Bolshoi. She danced the role for the first time last season at Milan‘s La Scala with Roberto Bolle; this time round her Armand will be Sergei Polunin who scored a huge personal success with the role with the…
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1907: Madame Tetrazzini conquerors London and her ‘rival’ Adelina Patti is there to cheer her on
In 1907 Madame Tetrazzini made a sensational début as Violetta in La Traviata at Covent Garden in London, where she was completely unknown, and from that point on she was an international operatic superstar, commanding the highest fees and selling out opera houses and concert halls wherever she performed, says Wikipedia. In her autobiography, written 14 years later, we have the whole…
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Rite of Spring at the Bolshoi: Béjart, Bausch, and Wayne McGregor’s new version for the Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Theatre has announced its 2012-2013 season and touring schedule. Milan‘s Teatro alla Scala will kick off the season on September 6 with Robert Carsen‘s acclaimed production of Don Giovanni which opened La Scala‘s season last year. The Italian presence continues with Pier Luigi Pizzi’s new production for the Bolshoi of Bellini’s La Somnambula with American…
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Christopher Wheeldon explains why his Alice ballet isn’t a slow-motion car crash
Luke Jennings, summing up the critics’ verdicts on the ‘McCartney Ballet’ in the Guardian‘s theatre blog, reflected on unsuccessful narrative ballets: Ballet’s gatekeepers tend to almost infinite credulity, and this, to a large extent, is why there are so many bad narrative ballets. Here in the UK there are dance directors who understand the nature…
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Critics Round-up: Royal Ballet’s Limen/Marguerite and Armand/Requiem
It seems that the Royal Ballet can’t go wrong. The company has been on a winning streak, which is continuing, justly, into Monica Mason’s final season as director. This triple bill succeeds in refracting Royal Ballet choreography into three distinct places, each one occupied by one of the company’s three resident choreographers – Frederick Ashton,…
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Yuhui Choe on what it takes to get to Cinderella’s ball
Korean dancer Yuhui Choe is currently playing Cinderella on the stage of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. I try to speak the emotion from my body — the theatre is very big so I want everyone to sense what I’m saying.” She talked to today’s Times about her performance days. EVENING It…
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Fabio Luisi chasing James Levine’s job leaves an opening for the young Daniele Rustioni
Last night Daniele Rustioni conducted Aida at Covent Garden. At 28 he is certainly young, but as assistant to the house musical director Antonio Pappano he was an obvious and pleasing choise to replace the escaping Fabio Luisi. Luisi, who’s eyeing James Levine‘s job at the Met, dashed off to replace him, breaking his Royal Opera House contract in doing so….
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Miyako Yoshida’s concert for Japan
If you are anywhere near Covent Garden tomorrow drop in to the Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House at 4pm for Miyako Yoshida‘s concert to raise money for the tsunami victims. Tickets are only £20, though of course donations are welcome. JAPAN TSUNAMI APPEAL CONCERT Sunday 20 March 4pm LINBURY STUDIO THEATRE Concert performance in…
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Steven McRae ignites the Covent Garden stage
The Times review opens with, Frederick Ashton‘s Rhapsody, the opening salvo of the Royal Ballet‘s latest triple bill, was created in 1980 to mark the 80th birthday of the Queen Mother. It was also conceived as a showcase for the extraordinarily virtuosic talents of the company guest star, Mikhail Baryshnikov. At this week’s opening night performance…
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Domingo at 70 – Iphigénie en Tauride at the Met, and a serenade in the Crush Bar
Singing is not easy. Even here in Milan, forget that myth that Italians are born singers. Just ask a friend to remind you how that tune goes and you’ll be stopping them after a few notes. That’s not what happened when, years ago, during a party on Covent Garden‘s Crush Bar, I was trying to tell Placido…
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The King’s Speech, Colin Firth and Natalie Portman – so no surprises at this year’s BAFTAs
The story of King George VI’s struggle to overcome a stammer, aided by his devoted wife, dominated the Orange British Academy Film Awards. Colin Firth continued his winning streak by taking the best actor prize for his portrayal of the reluctant monarch. Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush won the supporting actor categories. reports Anita…
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The Royal Ballet School – Ninette de Valois: Adventurous Traditionalist
The Royal Ballet School is to host a Conference to mark the 10th Anniversary of the death of the Founder of The Royal Ballet School and Companies, Dame Ninette de Valois OM, CH, DBE (1898 – 2001). This significant and wide-reaching event will be held over the first weekend of April, 2011; opening at the…
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