Review: Cecilia Bartoli’s sweet, tormented Love Songs in Rimini
Graham Spicer sees Cecilia Bartoli in concert with ‘Si dolce è ‘l tormento – Canzoni d’amore’, still weaving the Bartoli magic.
Graham Spicer sees Cecilia Bartoli in concert with ‘Si dolce è ‘l tormento – Canzoni d’amore’, still weaving the Bartoli magic.
Cecilia Bartoli – director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival and Monte-Carlo Opera – talks about being a manager, singing Orfeo and dancing flamenco.
Anita Rachvelishvili started experiencing vocal problems during her pregnancy in 2021. The Met cancelled her contracts and she’s suing.
Full details – cast, creative team, conductor – of the 14 operas in La Scala’s 2024-2025 opera season, which opens with La forza del destino.
La Scala’s tribute to pianist Maurizio Pollini who has died at 82. From 1958 to his last recital in February 2023, Pollini performed at La Scala 168 times.
On sale from today are one-month or one-year subscriptions to access the content of the theatre’s streaming platform, LaScalaTv, from 1 January 2024.
Jann Parry sees The Royal Ballet’s double bill with Valentino Zucchetti’s Anemoi (a whirlwind of a ballet) and Cathy Marston’s The Cellist (an extraordinary combination of talents).
The Covent Garden Dance Company presents Étoiles of Paris Opera Ballet & Friends at Hatch House, UK. The rain did not dim the performances.
The 2023-2024 Opera Season of the Teatro alla Scala will present 14 productions, 10 of which are new, with a predominantly Italian repertoire.
Competitive pricing for La Scala’s new streaming service with live performances and a catalogue of recorded operas, ballet and concerts.
La Scala 2021-2022 Opera Season will present 13 opera productions, nine are new productions. Plus recycling, women’s equality and lower prices.
Luisa Mandelli, Maria Callas‘ Annina at La Scala, died last night, just short of her 96th birthday. Daniel Barenboim called her the ‘eternal Annina’ having sung alongside Callas in Luchino Visconti‘s production of La traviata at La Scala under the baton of Carlo Maria Giulini. Mandelli was a constant presence in the theatre travelling on the…
The closing gala concert at Salzburg’s Whitsun Festival was to have featured the Festival’s director, Cecilia Bartoli, together with tenors Jonas Kaufmann and Rolando Villazón, and the Staatskapelle Berlin under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. A line up that almost justifies the more than €300 ticket price. Villazón cancelled at the last moment “for health…
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 class, but I was given the wrong day and time of the lesson, and therefore I found…
A pleasing new season at La Scala seems to tick all the right boxes, with half the programming dedicated to the Italian repertoire, some rarities, important international operas and a world premiere. The season will also mark the 40th Anniversary of Riccardo Chailly‘s collaboration with the theatre, and the 95th birthday of Franco Zeffirelli. The…
Robert Carsen‘s spectacular production for La Scala of Don Giovanni created for the opening of the opera season in 2011, started a ten-performance run last night, which ends on 6 June. The Financial Times review opened with, No coup de théâtre ever matched Mozart’s opening chords as stunningly as this. This is a welcome return….
The staging of La traviata is the lavish Liliana Cavani production with sets by Dante Ferretti with which Verdi’s masterpiece returned to La Scala in 1990 conducted by Riccardo Muti. It was performed as a preview performance two days ago, with the proceeds going to help Italy’s earthquake victims. Ailyn Perez will be singing tonight’s…
It’s not often that the accompanist for a recital is mentioned in the opening paragraph of a review, but Anita Rachvelishvili‘s recital at La Scala with pianist David Aladashvili was a true joint effort, not just musically, but from how they shared the stage. They obviously know each other very well and although Aladashvili, a…
Soprano Maria José Siri will be the protagonist of Madama Butterfly for the opening of the La Scala opera season on 7 December 2016. She was born in Uruguay but has been living for several years in Italy. The opera’s conductor, Riccardo Chailly, chose her for Cio-Cio-San, a performance that will be transmitted live to cinemas, on…
93-year-old Luisa Mandelli, who sixty years ago was the Annina in Luchino Visconti‘s La traviata with Maria Callas, was due to perform the same role under the baton of Daniel Barenboim this month. Was… unfortunately things didn’t go as planned. As a Wagner fan, Mandelli attended many of the performances conducted by Barenboim during the…
Q&A in italiano When did you start singing? I began singing when I was six years old in the choir at Saint Anne’s church in Lucca, where I was born. I started singing opera when I was twenty-one. Why did you start singing? I began singing because as soon as I discovered my voice it…
Luisa Mandelli, who played Annina in Luchino Visconti‘s La traviata at La Scala in 1955, is now 93 years old. Although a small role, she is remembered for her presence in this production not only because there was Carlo Maria Giulini on the podium, but the Violetta was Maria Callas. She also sang the page in…
Social media is revolutionising how theatres and their artists communicate with audiences and fans. Teatro alla Scala, which has an august, though often severe, reputation is, surprisingly, emerging as one of the top players in social networking. It had some catching up to do. The Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera opened their Twitter…
Instead of lounging in the pressroom with glass of something bubbly in my hand during the opening of La Scala‘s season, I found myself in the wings holding a mic and trying to describe – and translate – what was going on around me. The idea for this first live backstage video stream came from…
The most important season opening in the international opera calendar will be streamed live from the wings. La Scala‘s Fidelio, with Daniel Barenboim on the podium for the last time as the theatre’s music director, will be accompanied by a live stream showing what happens backstage at the world’s most famous theatre. For the first…
The opening of La Scala‘s season on 7 December each year is the most anticipated and often contested event in the international opera calendar. Daniel Barenboim opens the 2014-2015 Opera and Ballet Season with Fidelio directed by Deborah Warner. It marks the end of his nine years at the Teatro alla Scala at its musical helm, even…
Symphonic Programme 29, 30 September, 1 October 2014 Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala Conductor: Zubin Mehta Franz Joseph Haydn Die Schöpfung Hob. XXI:2 Oratorio Julia Kleiter, soprano Peter Sonn, tenor Thomas E. Bauer, bass – baritone Chorus Master: Bruno Casoni 12, 14, 15 November 2014 Filarmonica della Scala Conductor and soloist: Daniel Barenboim Wolfgang Amadeus…
4 December (Preview for young people), 7, 10, 13, 16, 20, 23 December 2014 Ludwig van Beethoven Fidelio Conductor: Daniel Barenboim Director: Deborah Warner Sets and costumes: Chloe Obolensky Cast Anja Kampe, Mojca Erdmann, Klaus Florian Vogt, Falk Struckmann, PeterMattei, Kwangchul Youn, Florian Hoffmann Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro alla Scala New production Teatro…
Well finally the Expo-season 2014-2015 at La Scala has been announced, with Alexander Pereira sitting chummily next to the smiling Milan mayor, Giuliano Pisapia. After the intrigue around the programming which caused the press conference to announce plans for the new season to be shelved, Pereira has accepted the terms to stay as the head…
Seeing Rolando Villazón in recital for the first time was surprising. I was expecting him to bound on stage like a hyperactive puppy, agitated and full of life, gazing wide-eyed at the audience, searching for its approval; instead I found a composed artist, calming taking his place at the centre of the stage, thoroughly prepared to…
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