Serata van Manen – Petit, (Van Manen and Petit Evening) opens at La Scala on 23 January. The evening consists of five gems from Hans van Manen and Roland Petit. The three van Manen pieces are Adagio Hammerklavier, Sarcasmen and Kammerballett, while the Petit pieces are Le combat des anges (from his ballet Proust, ou les intermittences du coeur ) and Le Jeune homme et la Mort … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Rehearsal photos of La Scala’s new mixed bill with Roberto Bolle, Manni, Coviello, Arduino and company
Martina Arduino
Danza&Danza Awards 2019 announced
The critics of the Italian magazine Danza&Danza (which also has an edition in English) huddle together at the beginning of each year to decided the ‘best’ of the previous year in Italian dance and dance seen in Italy. The jury, since 1987, has always underlined its objectivity and honesty in its selection of interpreters, productions and choreographers from Italy and … [Read more...] about Danza&Danza Awards 2019 announced
Manuel Legris’ Sylvia shows La Scala’s dancers on top form
Sylvia opened the 2019-2020 ballet season at La Scala. It is a co-production with the Wiener Staatsballett where it opened in November 2018. There have been no changes to Luisa Spinatelli’s sets and costumes or Manuel Legris’ choreography, which suggests that everyone was pleased with how it turned out in Vienna. However, while the overall evening is extremely pleasing, it is … [Read more...] about Manuel Legris’ Sylvia shows La Scala’s dancers on top form
Photo Album: First Night at La Scala with “Sylvia” in a New Production
Sylvia Photos of the opening night of Sylvia, with choreography by Manuel Legris, starring Martina Arduino, Claudio Coviello, Nicola Del Freo, Christian Fagetti, Maria Celeste Losa and company. Choreography Manuel Legris from Louis Mérante and others Dramaturgy and libretto Manuel Legris and Jean-François Vazelle from Jules Barbier and baron Jacques de … [Read more...] about Photo Album: First Night at La Scala with “Sylvia” in a New Production
Save the best until last – La Scala’s triple bill shows a company in excellent form
Save the best until last. Not a bad programming policy, and with La Scala’s recent triple bill, the last was Maurice Béjart’s Boléro. Obviously, with the first item on the programme being George Balanchine’s Symphony in C it can hardly be the best for many, but the Béjart is undoubtedly a crowd-pleaser and whoops and cheers went on for a long time after Ravel’s music had … [Read more...] about Save the best until last – La Scala’s triple bill shows a company in excellent form
Marianela Nuñez and Roberto Bolle lead a top-notch cast in Onegin at La Scala
John Cranko’s ballet Onegin was brought to La Scala in 1993 as a vehicle for Carla Fracci with Rex Harrington in the title role. It wasn’t, however, Fracci’s first contact with the ballet. Her close ties with Cranko began before he became the director of the Stuttgart Ballet when she created Juliet in his production of Romeo and Juliet for La Scala; she was 21. The inimitable … [Read more...] about Marianela Nuñez and Roberto Bolle lead a top-notch cast in Onegin at La Scala
La Scala stages an evening of ballet to raise funds to aid the flooded Teatro Fenice in Venice
On Friday 29 November, La Scala will add an extra performance of its triple bill which opens tomorrow night, and the entire proceeds will go to aid Venice’s Teatro Fenice which finds itself flooded after water in the canals has risen more than 1.50 meters. The theatre’s season was to have opened on 24 November with Don Carlo, conducted by Myung-Whun Chung in a production by … [Read more...] about La Scala stages an evening of ballet to raise funds to aid the flooded Teatro Fenice in Venice
Review: Giselle at La Scala with Zakharova/Hallberg, Manni/Andrijashenko, Valerio/Coviello
Giselle is one of La Scala Ballet’s international calling cards. Together with Nureyev’s Don Quixote, this production has been seen all over the world, and rightly so. The company dances it beautifully, and its staging by Yvette Chauviré (based, of course, on the Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot choreography) would be difficult to better. It is clearly told, the story points … [Read more...] about Review: Giselle at La Scala with Zakharova/Hallberg, Manni/Andrijashenko, Valerio/Coviello
Photo Album: Giselle at La Scala with Svetlana Zakharova and David Hallberg
Opening Night - 17 September 2019 Giselle Svetlana Zakharova Albrecht David Hallberg Duke of Courland Alessandro Grillo Principess Bathilde Marta Romagna Giselle's mother Beatrice Carbone Hilarion Mick Zeni Wilfried Riccardo Massimi Hunter Massimo Garon Peasants Pas de deux Martina Arduino, Nicola Del Freo Giselle's friends Alessia Auriemma, Christelle … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Giselle at La Scala with Svetlana Zakharova and David Hallberg
In with the old – La Scala returns to Nureyev’s Sleeping Beauty
If there is a ballet that belongs to La Scala, it’s Rudolf Nureyev’s production of The Sleeping Beauty, created for the ballet company in 1966 with Carla Fracci and Nureyev in the main roles. It was performed 152 times until 2007, when Tchaikovsky’s score fell silent for eight years until awoken by Alexei Ratmansky when he brought his reconstructed version to Milan in September … [Read more...] about In with the old – La Scala returns to Nureyev’s Sleeping Beauty