David McVicar’s new production of I masnadieri (The Robbers) for La Scala features a monumental set by Charles Edwards which is modified during the opera, but largely remains the same, so there is a line of showers (functional) alongside a tomb and a series of tavern tables and benches all within the entrance hall of a castle. It is beautifully lit throughout by Adam … [Read more...] about Verdi’s I masnadieri at La Scala is dark and wonderful in David McVicar’s exciting production
David McVicar
La Scala, Milan: Opera and Recital Season 2018 – 2019
OPERA SEASON 2018 - 2019 La Scala announced its 2018-2019 Opera season today with 15 titles, nine of which are new productions, and two are La Scala premieres. At the heart of the season remains the Italian repertoire, continuing with the cycle of works of Verdi, Puccini, Verismo (which will return in 2020 with Giordano’s Fedora and Montemezzi’s L’amore dei tre re), and the … [Read more...] about La Scala, Milan: Opera and Recital Season 2018 – 2019
Young mezzo Lilly Jørstad wins important grant from her ‘homeland’
Lilly Jørstad — the mezzo-soprano who was strangely considered ‘unsuitable’ to continue her studies at the La Scala Academy — has gone on to demonstrate what a bizarre decision that was. She has been called by the La Scala opera house several times to sing the lead role in their production of Cenerentola for children, Rosina (after her success a year ago at La Scala) at the … [Read more...] about Young mezzo Lilly Jørstad wins important grant from her ‘homeland’
Barbara Frittoli answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A in italiano When did you start singing? From what I remember I've always sung: when I was seven I had emergency surgery for peritonitis and I sang throughout the operation. Why did you start singing? When I was nine I was accepted at the Milan Conservatory to study piano; choral singing was, and is, one of the obligatory studies. Which singer inspired you most … [Read more...] about Barbara Frittoli answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Angela Gheorghiu reveals Alagna’s pathological jealousy of Kaufmann
I'm in love and happy. His name's Mihai Ciortea and he's Romanian like me. He's good-looking, kind and very, very young. Angela Gheorghiu is talking about her new partner who is twenty-two years her junior and works as a dentist. He followed me everywhere in the theatres. We first met a couple of years ago at Covent Garden after a performance of La Rondine. We haven't been … [Read more...] about Angela Gheorghiu reveals Alagna’s pathological jealousy of Kaufmann
Rebecca Caine answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A When did you start singing? As a professional at 19 thanks to being chucked out of the Guildhall. I always sang as a child. Why did you start singing? I simply loved it. I grew up with no tv and only classical music played at home. My parents were wonderful at taking us to opera. I saw Sutherland, Price, Gobbi and so on at a very young age. I decided to be a … [Read more...] about Rebecca Caine answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Anna Netrebko talks after the opening of Anna Bolena: There’s so much hatred!
On Anna Bolena "It's like nothing I've ever done before! You're practically shouting in the lower register for half the opera. [Donizetti] wants that nasty, chesty voice — he wants it to sound uncomfortable!" "It's asking so much of the nerves, the body, the emotion. There's so much hatred! I never thought I could be so angry." On "Manca solo a compire il delitto" when she … [Read more...] about Anna Netrebko talks after the opening of Anna Bolena: There’s so much hatred!
Critics Round-up: the Royal Opera’s Faust
Gounod's Faust is, on the one hand, a gift for directors and performers - as Geoff Brown says in The Times, "It’s a Cecil B De Mille film directed by Bob Fosse, and Hell on Earth in more ways than one" - but it can often inspire productions so over the top with racy ideas and cut-out villains that an audience couldn't care less about the characters on stage. David McVicar's … [Read more...] about Critics Round-up: the Royal Opera’s Faust