The Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the Palazzo Reale in Milan – opening last week to coincide with the beginning of the Milan Expo on 1 May – is not to be missed, even if the show misses some opportunities itself. Unfortunately pipped to the post by London’s Leonardo exhibition just three years ago, which actually focused in his two-decade stay in Milan, the curators … [Read more...]
Carla Fracci for Expo 2015: Milan, Capital of the World
The Milanese ballerina, Carla Fracci, has become an Ambassador for the Milan Expo 2015. The theme of the World Expo is Feed the planet, Energy for Life and in the clip below she talks about her love for her childhood dishes of Risotto alla Milanese (with a short-grained rice, such as Carnaroli , saffron and beef marrow) and Polenta (a maize flour, or cornmeal, … [Read more...]
Maria Callas’ costume for Macbeth at La Scala in 1952 in photos
Maria Callas' costumes evoke a special frisson of excitement: knowing that she was wearing it when she sang a role so loved from a recording, and, for a few, having actually seen her 60 years ago in the theatre dressed in the same costume now sitting on a mannequin. Milan's Teatro alla Scala preserves these costumes, and those of many other legendary opera singers, with … [Read more...]
Opera singer Rosalind Plowright comments on booing Bartoli at La Scala
Renée Fleming described it as the worst night of her operatic life, after Celeste Aida Roberto Alagna gave a military salute and walked off stage, Katia Ricciarelli quit the opera house refusing to come back, and Callas, Pavarotti, Verrett, Caballé and many others have all been on the receiving end. Being booed by the loggionisti at Milan's Teatro alla Scala can be thought of … [Read more...]
Adelina Patti in a splendid portrait now on show in Milan
Giuseppe Verdi on Adelina Patti, one of the great coloratura singers of the 19th century: When I heard her for the first time (she was eighteen) in London, I was astounded not only by the marvellous performance but also by a number of stage traits that revealed her great acting talents. Such was the fame and bravura of Dame Adelina Patti that in the 19th Century she was … [Read more...]