Anna Moffo: La Diva La Donna – a new exhibition opens at Villa Lanfranchi
Twenty years after her death, Anna Moffo returns – in photographs – to the house where her Italian life was rooted.
Madama Butterfly
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Interview: Choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra on Mariposa – a Queer Tragedy inspired by Puccini’s Madama Butterfly
Choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra talks to Paul Arrowsmith ahead of the UK tour of Mariposa – “Adapting opera into non-verbal dance was an exciting, but certainly difficult.”
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[Interview] Tenor Luciano Ganci – singing with “a heart and soul full of love and joy”
Tenor Luciano Ganci, at 42, finds himself with a large repertoire including 20 Verdi roles. I talked to him about training, preparation and his career so far.
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news | dance | music & opera
Royal Opera House announces 2023-2024 opera and ballet Cinema Season
The Royal Opera House has announced its next Cinema Season with 13 productions, eight of which will be broadcast to screens around the world.
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[Interview] Talking with soprano Eleonora Buratto about Hoffmann, perfume and spumante
While Eleonora Buratto is singing in Les contes d’Hoffmann in Milan, I talked to her about the opera, her perfume, her charity work, and New Year’s fizz.
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Conductor Nello Santi – who conducted 401 performances at The Met – has died at 88
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…
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Hui He answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
When did you start singing? I always loved to sing since I was a child. I sang on every occasion, also during public events at school, where my maths teacher heard me and advised me to take singing lesson with her neighbour who was a voice teacher. He listened me, and he told me that…
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More than 10% tune in to see Andrea Chénier live from La Scala
11,1% of Italy’s viewing public tuned in to watch Andrea Chénier transmitted yesterday evening, live from La Scala. 2,077,000 viewers followed the production, with over 11 million people watching it for a while before changing channels to watch their favourite game show. Italy is the home of opera, but people don’t wander down the streets…
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Maria José Siri answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A in italiano When did you start singing? I started as a young girl… for as long as I can remember. Why did you start singing? I started by accident. I was supposed to go to my saxophone class, but I was given the wrong day and time of the lesson, and therefore I found…
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Franco Vassallo answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A in italiano When did you start singing? When I was 11 to a disc of Rigoletto with Gobbi, Callas and Di Stefano; a blanket on my shoulder and an umbrella served as my cloak and sword! Above all I loved “La donna è mobile” and the role of the Duke of Mantua; my voice…
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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…
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Traviata opens tonight at La Scala… here’s a sneak peek
The staging of La traviata is the lavish Liliana Cavani production with sets by Dante Ferretti with which Verdi‘s masterpiece returned to La Scala in 1990 conducted by Riccardo Muti. It was performed as a preview performance two days ago, with the proceeds going to help Italy’s earthquake victims. Ailyn Perez will be singing tonight’s…
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Jonas Kaufmann on his return to singing after 4 months, and his love of Italian singability
Jonas Kaufmann has not sung since September when he sang the programme from his glorious new cd, Dolce Vita, at Teatro San Carlo in Naples. He was forced to cancel his imminent appearances due to voice problems… then a few more dates… then a few more, even cancelling his appearance at the Nobel Prize Award…
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Chailly’s Madama Butterfly is a revelation at La Scala – Maria José Siri captivating in the title role
So Madama Butterfly has finally had the triumph at La Scala that Puccini was hoping for in 1904 when the opera received its world premiere. Instead, 112 years ago, it was greeted with whistles and boos. Puccini was so disillusioned that he would never again collaborate with La Scala. His last and unfinished opera, Turandot,…
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Preview of the sumptuous new Madama Butterfly at La Scala
The opening of an opera season is an important event at any opera house, but at La Scala it is indeed something special. It is always on 7 December, Milan’s saint’s day. St Ambrose was the bishop of Milan in the 4th century, highly influential, and became one of the four fathers of the Catholic…
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Riccardo Chailly on Puccini’s first Madama Butterfly, soon to revisit La Scala
There is a small exhibition in La Scala‘s museum which looks at the theatre’s previous productions of Madama Butterfly, an opera that had its world premiere at the theatre in 1904. What is surprising is that in all the many concepts and designs there has always been a kimono and fan when so many other…
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The first Berkshire Opera Festival opens its doors with Madama Butterfly
The Berkshires in Massachusetts is about to welcome the Berkshire Opera Festival which aims “to entertain and enrich the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds throughout the Berkshire region by providing accessible and affordable performances of a broad range of operas with the highest artistic standards”. No mean task in 2016, but its…
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Puccini’s granddaughter against Riccardo Chailly’s booed Madama Butterfly
Riccardo Chailly‘s ‘Puccini Project’ at La Scala will continue with a new production of Madama Butterfly to open the 2016-2017 Season. The opera was written for La Scala in February 1904 and was booed heavily (and whistled at, the traditional sign of disapproval in Italian theatres). It was quickly withdrawn from the theatre’s schedule after…
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Maria José Siri on being chosen as Chailly’s Butterfly at La Scala
Soprano Maria José Siri will be the protagonist of Madama Butterfly for the opening of the La Scala opera season on 7 December 2016. She was born in Uruguay but has been living for several years in Italy. The opera’s conductor, Riccardo Chailly, chose her for Cio-Cio-San, a performance that will be transmitted live to cinemas, on…
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La Scala Opera Season 2016-2017 – full dates and casts
Ballet Season 2016-2017 Recital and Concert Season 2016-2017 The new season opens with another step along the path of Riccardo Chailly‘s Puccini Project, Madama Butterfly, which will be directed by Alvis Hermanis (Die Soldaten and I due Foscari at La Scala) with Maria José Siri as Butterfly and Bryan Hymel as Pinkerton. It will use the…
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Alexander Pereira’s new season at La Scala is rejected by the Lombardy Region
La Scala‘s Chief Executive, Alexander Pereira, saw his proposal for the theatre’s 2016-2017 season rejected yesterday by the Lombardy Region, one of the founding members of the Scala Foundation. Francesco Micheli, a long-time board member and opera specialist, abstained during the vote to approve the programming. The Regional Minister for Culture, Cristina Cappellini, said that…
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ROYAL OPERA SEASON 2016 – 2017: theatre, cinema and radio
All the details of the 2016-2017 Opera Season at London’s Royal Opera House: skip to section: ROYAL OPERA 2016-2017 SEASON – IN BRIEF THE ROYAL OPERA 2016-2017 SEASON THE ROYAL OPERA SEASON 2016-2017 – IN FULL BBC RADIO 3 AT THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE LIVE CINEMA SEASON ROYAL OPERA 2016-2017 SEASON…
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Marco Berti answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A in italiano When did you start singing? More or less I’ve always sung. First at my local church, then one day my cousin, who sung Ave Marie for weddings, gave me the chance to try and I did. Since then I’ve never stopped. Why did you start singing? Like almost all singers, for passion,…
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La Scala pays tribute to Fiorenza Cossotto
Yesterday, La Scala celebrated Fiorenza Cossotto’s 80th birthday with a conference in the Toscanini Foyer. Joining her were Sabino Lenoci and Giancarlo Landini from L’Opera Magazine. The idea of celebrating the ‘grandi voci’ that this theatre has witnessed started with the celebration of Mirella Freni‘s 80th birthday in February. The meeting with Cossotto kicks off…
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Warner Classics issue Maria Callas’ new LP
Warner Classics released a new Maria Callas LP today. LP? Yes LP! Although the Long Playing disc has had a niche market after the introduction of CDs in the pop music field, especially for indie music, or for DJs who specialize in that backwards scraping sound as they manipulate the turntable with their hands, it is…
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Fiorenza Cossotto answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A in italiano When did you start singing? When I was a girl. Why did you start singing? For my own personal enjoyment. Which singer inspired you most when you were young? No one. Which singer do you most admire? The good ones. What’s your favourite role? More than one… all the masterpieces. What role…
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Great tenor Carlo Bergonzi dies at 90
Carlo Bergonzi (born Polesine Parmense, 13 July 1924 – died Milan, 25 July 2014) Carlo Bergonzi, one of the greatest tenors of the 20th Century, died last night in Milan’s Auxologico Institute, just two weeks after celebrating his 90th birthday on 13 July. Bergonzi was born in Vidalenzo di Polesine Parmense near Parma in 1924 and at…
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Callas and Sutherland’s tenor – Renato Cioni – dies at 84
Renato Cioni, the great Tuscan tenor, died today in his home town of Portoferraio, on the island of Elba, where he was born almost 85 years ago. His career took off in the mid 1950s when he sang in a television production of Madama Butterfly with Anna Moffo, and Pinkerton was the role with which he made his début…
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Fabio Luisi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Conductors’ Edition
Q&A When did you start playing an instrument? When I was three and a half years old. Why did you start playing? My parents sent me to piano lessons, for me it was more like a game. Which musicians inspired you most when you were young? My teacher, Lili Chiesa, who was violinist in the…
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Get on your running shoes to catch up with Fabio Luisi
Fabio Luisi‘s a busy man. The 2013-2014 season finds him conducting operas at Zurich, the Met and La Scala, as well as giving countless concerts throughout the world. In his second season as General Music Director of the Zurich Opera, Luisi premieres new productions of Fidelio and Aida, with revivals of La straniera, Les contes d’Hoffmann, and Don Carlo with René…
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