Opera singing is a high-wire profession. Only the most tone-deaf will not wince when a note is off. It is all too obvious when part of a role lies too high, or too low or, indeed, hovers too much around the centre of the voice, for a particular singer. Audiences reach out in empathy when […]
Gregory Kunde
Great musicologist Philip Gossett remembered by his colleagues and friends
Philip Gossett called himself “a fan, a musician and a scholar,” in that order. The great music scholar, who died yesterday in Chicago at the age of 75, saw himself first and foremost as a fan. It was his love and passion for opera, especially Italian opera of the 19th century, which led him to […]
ROYAL OPERA SEASON 2016 – 2017: theatre, cinema and radio
All the details of the 2016-2017 Opera Season at London’s Royal Opera House: skip to section: ROYAL OPERA 2016-2017 SEASON – IN BRIEF THE ROYAL OPERA 2016-2017 SEASON THE ROYAL OPERA SEASON 2016-2017 – IN FULL BBC RADIO 3 AT THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE LIVE CINEMA SEASON ROYAL OPERA 2016-2017 SEASON […]
Nicola Alaimo answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A in italiano When did you start singing? I started singing when I was very young, but seriously in 1996, together with literature and music. I was a 17-year-old full of hopes and dreams that were securely locked away in my heart. Dreams that were not just centred on singing, obviously, and now, at 37, […]
Rossini’s Otello is back at La Scala after 145 years
After 145 years, Rossini’s Otello is back at La Scala. Incredibly, it hasn’t been performed at the theatre since 1870. A welcome return then for Rossini’s take on Shakespeare’s story, which he and his librettist took some liberties with (a billet-doux instead of a handkerchief and no Cassio), one of the biggest changes being to pump […]
La Scala complete Opera casts and dates: 2014 – 2015
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 […]
Zubin Mehta brings Kunde, Cedolins, Ferri and Kunde to open the new Florence Opera House
I’ve only one thing to ask our Prime Minister, who is making so many reforms: I hope with all my heart that he will introduce tax relief for culture. It is of the utmost importance! Zubin Mehta, director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, launched his appeal to Matteo Renzi, the current Italian Prime Minister and […]
