Tenor Dave Monaco chats with Graham Spicer about his journey to becoming one of today’s most sought-after Rossini and Mozart singers.
I talked with Annalisa Stroppa, one of the world’s most sought-after mezzosopranos, on conductors and directors, her family, religion and a singer’s life.
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…
La Scala remembers the great conductor Victor de Sabata with an exhibition in the theatre foyer (which opens tomorrow, Sunday 12 November) and Riccardo Chailly has chosen to dedicate Andrea Chénier to his memory, which is the opera which opens the theatre’s season on 7 December. De Sabata first arrived at La Scala in the…
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….
More than a gift to their own coffers, Warner Classics in releasing Maria Callas Live is giving fans of La Divina and lovers of opera a meticulously restored collection of some of her finest performances to treasure. It is timed to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of her death in Paris on 16 September 1977. The…
A pleasing new season at La Scala seems to tick all the right boxes, with half the programming dedicated to the Italian repertoire, some rarities, important international operas and a world premiere. The season will also mark the 40th Anniversary of Riccardo Chailly‘s collaboration with the theatre, and the 95th birthday of Franco Zeffirelli. The…
As a committed fan of BBC 4’s Desert Island Discs, I am delighted that Joyce DiDonato will be revealing her list of eight recordings, a book and a luxury item that she would take if she was to be cast away on a desert island. Of course, it’s the chat between the music that is the captivating aspect…
Renata Scotto has never been one to hold her tongue and at 81 she doesn’t intend to start. In a recent interview for Italy’s Il Corriere della Sera, she was asked about Andrea Bocelli: He’s good when he’s singing pop music and he’s achieved a popularity that’s perfect for the masses. He shouldn’t, however, grapple…
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…
Mirella Freni is eighty, and to celebrate her birthday La Scala threw open its doors to her fans and opera lovers to see the great soprano once again on the stage that was hers for so many years. A feisty Freni strode onstage and seemed surprised and visibly moved by the long standing ovation. She…
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…
Claudio Del Monaco remains in a chronic condition but the prognosis is more positive, though doctors at Treviso’s Ca ‘Foncello hospital haven’t yet taken him off the danger list. Del Monaco, director and son of Italian opera’s great Mario, has improved greatly since he was admitted to hospital. Two severe stab wounds, inflicted by his wife, Daniela…
Claudio Del Monaco, the 64 year-old son of tenor Mario del Monaco, was seriously injured last night from stab wounds allegedly inflicted by his wife. Del Monaco, an opera director, and his 35 year-old German wife Daniela Hermann, an opera singer, were on holiday in Jesolo, near Venice. It is assumed that during a violent quarrel Hermann used a 10 inch (25cm)…
“My life for opera – determination, faith and humility” Today, the 86-year-old Carlo Bergonzi admits that sometimes he still sings, “I sit at the piano and dedicate ‘Non ti scordar di me’ to my wife, which was the song with which I used to finish each of my concerts, including my public farewell at the…
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