The conductor Nello Santi has died at 88. He last worked at La Scala in November 2017, when he was 86, conducting Nabucco. He was born in 1931 in Adria in the Veneto region. He was the director of Zurich Opera from 1958 to 1969. In 1960, Santi conducted the Wiener Philharmoniker for Don Carlo […]
La traviata
Franco Zeffirelli, at 96, on Anna Magnani and Maria Callas, his career, and old age
On 21 June Franco Zeffirelli’s new production of La traviata opens at Verona’s gigantic arena. He’s 96. On Anna Magnani and Maria Callas Anna Magnani and Maria Callas were two goddesses but with difficult characters. Anna wanted to see me and asked to come to dinner, as long we could be alone so that we […]
Interview: Carmen Giannattasio on her first Tosca, Lady Gaga, and homicide
Soprano Carmen Giannattasio has been in demand since she was thrust before the public eye when she won both the First Prize and the Audience Award at Placido Domingo’s Operalia in Paris in 2002. She took on one of the most challenging soprano roles soon after, singing Violetta La Traviata. Reviewing a 2007 performance at […]
Luisa Mandelli, Maria Callas’ Annina at La Scala, has died at 95
Luisa Mandelli, Maria Callas’ Annina at La Scala, died last night, just short of her 96th birthday. Daniel Barenboim called her the ‘eternal Annina’ having sung alongside Callas in Luchino Visconti’s production of La traviata at La Scala under the baton of Carlo Maria Giulini. Mandelli was a constant presence in the theatre travelling on the […]
Interview with Juan Diego Flórez who debuts in Ricciardo e Zoraide at Pesaro tonight
Twenty-two years ago, Juan Diego Flórez arrived like a meteorite across the opera firmament. A couple of weeks before his career launching performance, I’d met the young tenor in Milan. He’d flown over from Peru with a work visa just for a handful of days, and was heading to Pesaro to make his Italian debut. […]
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 […]
Lucas Meachem answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A When did you start singing? There’s not a time I don’t remember singing in some capacity. Why did you start singing? I have a need to perform and to share my love of music with others. Which singer inspired you most when you were young? Luciano Pavarotti. Which singer do you most admire? Bryn […]
Maria Callas on Stage – a new exhibition at La Scala
Maria Callas in scena – Gli anni alla Scala (Maria Callas on Stage – the La Scala Years) runs from 15 September to 31 January at La Scala’s museum, which is housed in the same building as the theatre. The Italian theatre designer, Margherita Palli, has overseen the exhibition which contains 14 of La Divina’s […]
Angela Gheorghiu’s releases first studio recording in six years: Eternamente – The Verismo Album
The studio recording – her first in six years – explores the generation of Italian composers that followed Verdi, including three duets with tenor Joseph Calleja Eternamente – The Verismo Album, Angela Gheorghiu’s first studio recording in six years, will be released on 20 October 2017, and will feature performances of opera and song by Italian […]
Marie Duplessis, at 23, inspired Dumas then Verdi; now 23-year-old Maria Mudryak sings La traviata
La traviata, an opera that has moved audiences to tears since its premiere in Venice in 1853, was based on a true story of prostitution, obsession and love. Marie Duplessis was born in 1824 to a humble family in Nonant-le-Pin, in north-western France. Hers is the classic rags-to-riches story, complete with a mother who died […]
