Can art, in this case dance, be a protection from politics? Do you become a collaborator if your work is helping to fill the coffers of the regime? Conductors Furtwängler and Toscanini offer a … [Read more...] about The silence of the cultural elite – moral dilemmas of working in dance in today’s Russia
La Scala
After the Bolshoi, Jacopo Tissi joins Dutch National Ballet
Jacopo Tissi has been offered a contract as principal dancer with the Dutch National Ballet (Het Nationale Ballet) in Amsterdam. He left the same position at the Bolshoi Theatre in 2022 after Russia … [Read more...] about After the Bolshoi, Jacopo Tissi joins Dutch National Ballet
A 131-CD collection to celebrate Maria Callas’ 100th birthday
To celebrate the 100th birthday of Maria Callas, Warner Classics will release La Divina: Maria Callas in all her roles on 22 September 2023. The massive 131-CD collection is the most comprehensive … [Read more...] about A 131-CD collection to celebrate Maria Callas’ 100th birthday
[Review] Romeo and Juliet at La Scala with Alice Mariani and Nicola Del Freo
“We didn't need dialogue. We had faces,” said Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. One of the striking aspects of the final cast to be seen during the run of Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet at La … [Read more...] about [Review] Romeo and Juliet at La Scala with Alice Mariani and Nicola Del Freo
[Interview] Agnese Di Clemente – La Scala’s newest Juliet is from Verona
One of the most interesting talents at La Scala is the prettily named dancer Agnese Di Clemente, a soloist with the proportions of music box ballerina – petite and graceful. The 27-year-old comes … [Read more...] about [Interview] Agnese Di Clemente – La Scala’s newest Juliet is from Verona
[Review] Carlo il Calvo – Fagioli, Lezhneva and Cenčić give explosive performances in Porpora’s opera
Carlo il Calvo? The name appears in small italics in some booklets of CDs of Baroque arias, so I’d vaguely heard of it. But there it was, as a concert performance in La Scala’s season calendar. If I … [Read more...] about [Review] Carlo il Calvo – Fagioli, Lezhneva and Cenčić give explosive performances in Porpora’s opera
[Review] The second annual Gala Fracci at La Scala
[Photo Album of Gala Fracci below] In 2021, the director of the La Scala ballet company, Manuel Legris, had the idea to invite Carla Fracci to give a short masterclass during preparations for … [Read more...] about [Review] The second annual Gala Fracci at La Scala
Italian conductor Speranza Scappucci to become Principal Guest Conductor at the Royal Opera
The Royal Opera House has announced that Speranza Scappucci will become Principal Guest Conductor of The Royal Opera. She will take up the position in September 2025, at the start of the 2025-2026 … [Read more...] about Italian conductor Speranza Scappucci to become Principal Guest Conductor at the Royal Opera
The Florence opera house to sell its vast archive to avoid closure
The Maggio Musicale in Florence may sell off its large archive in a desperate attempt to find €8.5m by July, part of a huge debt left behind after Alexander Pereira resigned last February. Without … [Read more...] about The Florence opera house to sell its vast archive to avoid closure
La Scala Ballet Season 2023-2024
The new Ballet Season, devised by La Scala’s ballet director Manuel Legris, presents seven titles ranging from 19th-century classics such as Coppélia – in a new version by Alexei Ratmansky to open the … [Read more...] about La Scala Ballet Season 2023-2024
The second edition of the Carla Fracci gala arrives at La Scala
After the resounding success of the first edition of Gala Fracci – a tribute by La Scala to Carla Fracci – now, two years after her death (she died on 27 May 2021) comes the second edition of what … [Read more...] about The second edition of the Carla Fracci gala arrives at La Scala
[Review] Blake Works V – William Forsythe’s sensational evening of dance at La Scala
[Go to Photo Album] Blake Works V is the fifth programme that William Forsythe has built on the music of the English musician James Blake. Blake Works I was a piece created for the Paris Opera … [Read more...] about [Review] Blake Works V – William Forsythe’s sensational evening of dance at La Scala
[Interview] Conductor Henrik Nánási – immersing himself in the music
The Hungarian conductor Henrik Nánási will be conducting Rusalka at the Bayerische Staatsoper from 14 May, but his international career, and wide-ranging repertoire, will soon see him taking off … [Read more...] about [Interview] Conductor Henrik Nánási – immersing himself in the music
[Photo Album] Photos from the first night of William Forsythe’s ‘Blake Works V’
William Forsythe returns to La Scala to continue his exploration of the musical output of British composer James Blake with Blake Works V, which opened last night and runs from until 30 May … [Read more...] about [Photo Album] Photos from the first night of William Forsythe’s ‘Blake Works V’
The bizarre story of Italian opera house musical chairs – Meyer, Fuortes, Lissner
An Italian story… Carlo Fuortes was brought in to manage the Rome Opera House at Christmas in 2013 when the theatre was on the verge of closing with a €32m debt. He overhauled the working practices … [Read more...] about The bizarre story of Italian opera house musical chairs – Meyer, Fuortes, Lissner
[Review] Balthus Variations and other delights in La Scala’s Ballet School show
The lucky ballet students of Milan’s academy at La Scala get to perform five shows on one of Milan’s most famous stages – the Teatro Strehler, named after the great director who established the famed … [Read more...] about [Review] Balthus Variations and other delights in La Scala’s Ballet School show
Blake Works V – La Scala presents a new work from William Forsythe – “You can get a lot done with calm.”
William Forsythe returns to La Scala continuing his exploration of the musical output of British composer James Blake with Blake Works V, which runs from 10 to 30 May 2023. The programme is a suite of … [Read more...] about Blake Works V – La Scala presents a new work from William Forsythe – “You can get a lot done with calm.”
[Review] The Trocks are back… gags honed over half a century
Ah, the Trocks are back in Milan. Our paths have crossed so many times… in Milan, London, Paris. How I’ve missed you. The company was last at the Teatro Arcimboldi in Milan in 2016. There were many … [Read more...] about [Review] The Trocks are back… gags honed over half a century
La Scala and Manuel Legris remember Pierre Lacotte
Pierre Lacotte: 4 April 1932 – 10 April 2023 The Teatro alla Scala and its ballet company, the intendant Dominque Meyer and the ballet director Manuel Legris, join the mourning dance world for the … [Read more...] about La Scala and Manuel Legris remember Pierre Lacotte
[Interview] Talking with soprano Eleonora Buratto about Hoffmann, perfume and spumante
The current run of Les contes d’Hoffmann at La Scala sees soprano Eleonora Buratto making her debut as Antonia. After the opening night, I asked her how she was settling into her new role. It's a … [Read more...] about [Interview] Talking with soprano Eleonora Buratto about Hoffmann, perfume and spumante
[Review] Le Corsaire at La Scala – if it ain’t broke, why try to fix it?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. How odd then, that at La Scala, the applauded version of Le Corsaire by Anna-Marie Holmes has been substituted for that by the Milanese company’s director, Manuel … [Read more...] about [Review] Le Corsaire at La Scala – if it ain’t broke, why try to fix it?
[Interview] Designer Tom Pye on death threats, Cinderella – and cowboys
Guest author Paul Arrowsmith talks to Tom Pye, the designer of The Royal Ballet’s new production of Cinderella. Tom Pye has reimagined anew Frederick Ashton’s 75-year-old ballet Cinderella, for The … [Read more...] about [Interview] Designer Tom Pye on death threats, Cinderella – and cowboys
[Photo Album] La Scala’s Le Corsaire, opening tonight and to be live streamed 1 March 2023
Le Corsaire, in a version by La Scala Ballet’s director Manuel Legris, will be the first ballet to be live-streamed on La Scala’s new video channel LaScalaTV. The production opens tonight, with … [Read more...] about [Photo Album] La Scala’s Le Corsaire, opening tonight and to be live streamed 1 March 2023
LaScalaTv, La Scala’s new streaming platform, is now live
Yesterday was the first live stream from LaScalaTv (of I Vespri siciliani with a superb cast) and other operas, ballets, concerts and recitals will follow. La Scala has been building up a catalogue … [Read more...] about LaScalaTv, La Scala’s new streaming platform, is now live
First look at the Dawson/Duato/Kratz/Kylián contemporary programme at La Scala
Dawson/Duato/Kratz/Kylián is a new mixed programme at La Scala which opens on 4 February, with a new creation by Philippe Kratz (Solitude Sometimes); two works that are being presented for the first … [Read more...] about First look at the Dawson/Duato/Kratz/Kylián contemporary programme at La Scala
[Interview] In conversation with Italian tenor Piero Pretti as he returns to La Scala for another debut
A new production of I Vespri Siciliani by Argentinian director Hugo de Ana – who has also designed the sets and costumes – opens at La Scala this evening, 28 January 2023. The performance will be … [Read more...] about [Interview] In conversation with Italian tenor Piero Pretti as he returns to La Scala for another debut
Franco Zeffirelli – The La Scala Years: an exhibition in Milan
Franco Zeffirelli was born in Florence on 12 January 1923. Teatro alla Scala anticipates the celebration of the great director's centenary with the exhibition “Franco Zeffirelli - The La Scala Years" … [Read more...] about Franco Zeffirelli – The La Scala Years: an exhibition in Milan
Bruno Vescovo, former principal dancer with the La Scala Ballet, has died at 73
Bruno was a dancer of modest height with a fast dynamic, a physical quality that matched his personality. He often danced together with Anna Maria Grossi, a beautifully proportioned dancer who … [Read more...] about Bruno Vescovo, former principal dancer with the La Scala Ballet, has died at 73
[Review] Rudolf Nureyev’s Nutcracker at La Scala – lacking fizz
The return to La Scala of Rudolf Nureyev’s Nutcracker after 16 years gives back a well-loved production after the theatre flirted with versions by Duato and Balanchine, and it marks another step in … [Read more...] about [Review] Rudolf Nureyev’s Nutcracker at La Scala – lacking fizz
Pro-Putin dancer Sergei Polunin’s show to be staged in Milan in January
On 28 and 29 January 2023, the Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan will present Rasputin, a project by and starring Sergei Polunin – the ‘rock star of world dance’ according to the theatre’s … [Read more...] about Pro-Putin dancer Sergei Polunin’s show to be staged in Milan in January
