Mirella Freni sang at La Scala from 1962 until 1996 (an account of those years, with comments by Mirella Freni, is here). La Scala issued a statement, which reads: The news of Mirella Freni’s passing has deeply moved all the workers, the musicians, and the management of the La Scala Theatre. Before the performance of […]
Luciano Pavarotti
Mirella Freni dies at 84
Mirella Freni, who would have been 85 on 27 February, has died at her home in Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. She had been fighting an illness for a long while and died surrounded by friends and family. Her coffin will be placed in Modena’s Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti on the morning […]
Rolando Panerai dies at 95 – a career of tradition and adventure
With Rolando Panerai we lose a star of opera that we will not see the like of again, and many of his performances have shaped the history of La Scala’s opera house. La Scala left these words today, reflecting on the career of the great baritone, who died on Tuesday at 95. Maybe some of […]
Paolo Bordogna answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… singers’ edition
Q&A in italiano When did you start singing? On the staircase of my apartment building, there was an echo that added force to my voice; I listened to it as though it were my voice. It was perhaps a way to conquer my shyness. Why did you start singing? One of my classmates invited me […]
George Gagnidze answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A in italiano When did you start singing? When I was 13 or 14 I started singing Georgian and Russian folk songs with my sister who was played the piano. Why did you start singing? My father used to sing in a folk chorus, but not as a professional singer, it was just a hobby […]
Bolle’s Boléro: Roberto Bolle at La Scala performs Béjart’s intoxicating rite for the first time
I certainly wasn’t the only one to have doubts when Roberto Bolle announced his intention to climb onto Béjart’s red table. Facebook was abuzz with comments from puzzled ballet fans who couldn’t see him as La Mélodie. Even now, after his run of performances of Boléro, many hold on to that view. How delighted I […]
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 […]
A first look at La Scala’s new Andrea Chénier with Yusif Eyvazov, Anna Netrebko and Luca Salsi
Andrea Chénier is the opera to open the new season at Teatro alla Scala on 7 December 2017. Here we present the first images of the opera which stars Yusif Eyvazov in the title role, Anna Netrebko is Maddalena di Coigny, and Luca Salsi plays Gérard. The production is directed by Mario Martone with sets […]
Raina Kabaivanska recounts career secrets including La Scala’s fur coat and Pavarotti’s kiss
Latest in a collaboration between Italy’s L’Opera magazine and La Scala to celebrate the careers of singers – both living and deceased – was Saturday’s encounter with the great Bulgarian soprano Raina Kabaivanska, still statuesque and glamourous at 82. Interspersed with audio and video clips of some of her celebrated roles, were well-aimed questions from […]
Stunning photos from La Scala archives celebrate Raina Kabaivanska’s return to the theatre
As part of the Great Voices at La Scala series, Raina Kabaivanska will be interviewed Sabino Lenoci and Giancarlo Landini of Italy’s L’Opera magazine in the theatre at 4pm, Saturday 4 November. After the success of Puccini’s Tabarro in 1959 with Piero Cappuccilli at Vercelli’s Teatro Civico, Kabaivanska started out on her triumphant international career. […]
