After Riccardo Chailly opens the season with Tosca, continuing the cycle of works by Puccini, he will conduct his first Strauss opera, as well as the complete Beethoven symphonies. Zubin Mehta will conduct two Verdi operas as well as Luigi Nonno’s Intolleranza which will be performed at La Scala for the first time. Handel's Semele will also receive its first staged performance … [Read more...] about La Scala, Milan: Opera and Recital Season 2019 – 2020
Ian Bostridge
Joyce DiDonato joins opera singers from 70 years of Desert Island Discs
As a committed fan of BBC 4's Desert Island Discs, I am delighted that Joyce DiDonato will be revealing her list of eight recordings, a book and a luxury item that she would take if she was to be cast away on a desert island. Of course, it's the chat between the music that is the captivating aspect of the programme - Tom Hanks broke down in tears more than once, "Kirsty, … [Read more...] about Joyce DiDonato joins opera singers from 70 years of Desert Island Discs
Photos – First look at Britten’s Turn of the Screw at La Scala
Benjamin Britten’s masterpiece Turn of the Screw opens tonight at La Scala and runs until 17 October. It will be the first time that the opera has been sung in English at the theatre as it’s only other appearance, at the end of the ‘60s, was in Virginio Puecher’s production which was in Italian. The new production marks the debut in Milan of Danish director Kasper … [Read more...] about Photos – First look at Britten’s Turn of the Screw at La Scala
Ian Bostridge sings Schubert: 3 song cycles in 3CD set
Ian Bostridge, one of the leading Schubert tenors of his generation, has just published a book on the composer's Winterreise song cycle. Winter Journey: The Anatomy of an Obsession is an insightful and deeply personal exploration of what the he calls "an indispensable work of art that should be as much a part of our common experience as the poetry of Shakespeare and Dante, the … [Read more...] about Ian Bostridge sings Schubert: 3 song cycles in 3CD set
Ian Bostridge at La Scala: a great artist with a strange manner
Ian Bostridge's lieder programme at La Scala went down extremely well, though interval chat revealed that many were confused by his apparent dislike of the audience. His lack of communication facially was certainly compensated for vocally, but apart from an attempted smile a few minutes before the end of his recital, Bostridge gave the impression that the applause was … [Read more...] about Ian Bostridge at La Scala: a great artist with a strange manner