An unusual mixed bill at La Scala showcased the works of two choreographers: Hans van Manen and Roland Petit. Two of the van Manen pieces were new to the company, though his Adagio Hammerklavier, which opened the programme, was performed in Milan in 1985. Adagio Hammerklavier was created in 1973 (the men wear leg-warmers and […]
Ivan Vasiliev
Photo album: Tamara Rojo and Ivan Vasiliev in Le Jeune Homme et La Mort as photographed by Dasa Wharton
“With his pantherine leaps and blazing-eyed, silent-movie acting style, Vasiliev is terrific as the young man. As he struts and frets to Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, costumed in possibly the tightest jeans ever seen on the Coliseum stage, every sinew of his sculpted musculature is taut with angst. Rojo, meanwhile, her hair […]
Gregory Reinhart answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A When did you start singing? As a child in Upstate New York, every Sunday I was taken to Mass. I loved hearing the songs in Latin, and hearing the choir. I wanted so badly to sing along, but was told by the organist I’d have to wait until my voice changed! At school I […]
Meeting Davide Dato, the Italian ballet star who’s finally hitting the headlines in his homeland
Salsa, merengue and mambo… that’s how I started dancing. So says Davide Dato, Principal Dancer at the Vienna State Ballet. Many classical dancers began in their living room imitating Michael Jackson’s moonwalk, but the Caribbean dances for Dato were not just a phase. I started when I was very young, with my sister Greta. Our […]
La Scala’s orchestra, chorus and ballet company embark on a month-long tour
La Scala’s orchestra, chorus and ballet company have flown out of Milan for a month on tour which will see them in Korea, China, Japan and Russia. Tomorrow night at the Lotte Hall in Seoul, Myung-Whun Chung will conduct a concert performance of Simon Boccanegra with Simone Piazzola, Carmen Giannattasio, Fabio Sartori and Dmitry Belosselskiy. […]
18-year-old Vincenzo di Primo on winning at Lausanne and studying at the Vienna Ballet Academy
18-year-old Vincenzo di Primo was one of the seven winners at the annual Prix de Lausanne, taking away the Albert Amon Foundation scholarship which will give him the opportunity to train for a year at one of the 66 schools and dance companies that support the Lausanne competition. Lausanne was an unforgettable experience which gave […]
My Big Fat Italian Ballet Gala
The Gala des Étoiles at La Scala made me feel as though I’d eaten all the icing on the cake: happy, but a little woozy. Don Q? Check! Corsaire? Check! Manon and Romeo and Juliet? Check! Spartacus? Check! As you can see if you scroll down to the programme, it wasn’t all hoary favourites, and […]
Full programme of la Scala’s Gala des Étoiles – 30 and 31 October
Below is the full programme of Gala des Étoiles, at La Scala on 30 and 31 October. The Gala will be transmitted live by Italian television, Rai, on Rai5, and in cinemas internationally both live and over the next two months. It can also be followed live from the wings via La Scala’s site and its […]
Ballet’s biggest names come to Milan for 4 days of dance
Milan is not like London or New York… there’s not a lot of dance going on. The resident company at La Scala will be performing six titles during the coming season. That’s S-I-X. And there will not be thirty Nutcrackers around Christmas either, there’ll be 12 Cinderellas; usually there are just nine performances of each title. […]
Ardani Artists 25th Anniversary “If only all Galas could be like this”
Sergei and Gaiane Danilian, The Russian couple known by their company name, Ardani Artists, marked their 25th anniversary of dance management, production and promotion with a gala featuring some of the most flashy names in dance today: Marcelo Gomes, Friedemann Vogel, Edward Watson, Joaquín De Luz, Denis Matvienko and Ivan Vasiliev, although, according to most of […]
