Last night a Gala to celebrate Rudolf Nureyev was had at La Scala. It is the 80th Anniversary of his birth and also 25 years after his death. The Gala was previewed by a benefit audience on Thursday, and opened Friday 25 May, with further performances on 26 and 29 May. La Scala's Étoiles Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle were joined by guests Marianela Nuñez, Germain Louvet, … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Nureyev Gala at La Scala – Zakharova, Louvet, Nuñez, Muntagirov and Bolle (and Nureyev at La Scala facts and figures)
Raymonda
Eufemia Brancato, queen of the tutu, dies at 95
Eufemia Brancato died this morning three weeks before her 96th birthday. She was the head of Brancato Costumiers in Milan which she founded in 1961 after five years working at the Piccolo Teatro with Giorgio Strehler. Creating her own company came about after the great Italian designer Luciano Damiani asked her to make all the costumes for an opera he was designing. Being that … [Read more...] about Eufemia Brancato, queen of the tutu, dies at 95
A good, old-fashioned gala? Pignotti salutes Nureyev
Luigi Pignotti was Rudolf Nureyev’s massager then manager. He now has a company which produces evenings of ballet, flamenco and tango… though not together. It was, maybe, obvious that he would dedicate something to the memory of his old friend and still one of the ballet world’s most talked about personalities. For several years he has been producing galas in Nureyev’s honour … [Read more...] about A good, old-fashioned gala? Pignotti salutes Nureyev
Raymonda at La Scala… a year on
A year ago at Milan's Teatro alla Scala the ballet company scored a hit with its restaging of that difficult piece Raymonda. The ballet's improbable story, with a lack of obvious dramatic push, can make it seem lacklustre. Therefore when Rudolf Nureyev's version for Paris hit the stage in 1983, with Jean Guizerix's brilliantly macho Abderam making poor Yvette Chauviré quake … [Read more...] about Raymonda at La Scala… a year on
Being groomed for stardom: Italian ballerina Petra Conti
23 year-old Petra Conti is a dancer at La Scala in Milan, who is being slowly brought before the public by director (ex-director of the Mariinsky) Makhar Vaziev.He first saw her when she spent a year in St Petersberg at the Mariinsky to polish her technique. After the 2008-2009 season with the Bavarian State Ballet she decided to return to her homeland: I preferred to … [Read more...] about Being groomed for stardom: Italian ballerina Petra Conti