• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • HOME
  • POPULAR POSTS
    • DANCE
    • MUSIC & OPERA
    • PHOTOGRAPHY
  • QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
    • DANCERS
    • SINGERS
  • MY PHOTOS
  • CONTACT
gramilano logo

Gramilano

- dance, opera, photography...

Rome

Italy now ranks museums as ‘essential services’ after strike closes the Colosseum

19 September 2015 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

After the chaos in Rome yesterday when the Colosseum and the Imperial Fora remained closed for three hours for workers to attend a union meeting, the Italian Government has responded with uncommon … [Read more...] about Italy now ranks museums as ‘essential services’ after strike closes the Colosseum

Rome’s Colosseum to get its floor back

17 April 2015 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Ecco nelle foto Alinari come i visitatori vedevano e vivevano il Colosseo sino a poco più di un secolo fa. pic.twitter.com/i4w74IYUlB — Dario Franceschini (@dariofrance) November 2, 2014 Last … [Read more...] about Rome’s Colosseum to get its floor back

Mikhail Baryshnikov helps achieve the dream of Russian poet Josef Brodsky

3 June 2013 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Nobel prize-winning poet Josef Brodsky and ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov were good friends. Really good friends. Brodsky hated calling Baryshnikov 'Mikhail' or 'Misha' so he called him 'Mysh': … [Read more...] about Mikhail Baryshnikov helps achieve the dream of Russian poet Josef Brodsky

Roberto Bolle and Friends from ABT on tour in Italy

7 May 2013 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

In addition to the Roberto Bolle & Friends dates in New York and Shanghai, a new group of friends will join him for his Italian leg of the tour. Roberto Bolle & Friends from the American … [Read more...] about Roberto Bolle and Friends from ABT on tour in Italy

The Italian Greta Garbo is gone: Rossella Falk dies at 86

5 May 2013 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Rome, 10 November 1926 – Rome, 5 May 2013 One of the greatest Italian stage actresses has died in Rome at the age of 86. Rossella Falk was a giant among Italian actresses, with a slightly arrogant … [Read more...] about The Italian Greta Garbo is gone: Rossella Falk dies at 86

Police helicopters circle overhead as Cecilia Bartoli returns to Rome

9 April 2013 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Bartoli fans battled their way to Renzo Piano's glorious Auditorium Parco della Musica through security cordons, with police helicopters circling overhead. These precautions were not for the Roman … [Read more...] about Police helicopters circle overhead as Cecilia Bartoli returns to Rome

Boris Bilinsky: costume and set designer for ballet, opera and film and legendary graphic artist

6 December 2012 by Gramilano 3 Comments

Boris Bilinsky was born in Odessa in 1900, but left Russia in 1920, escaping from the aftermath of the Revolution. He settled in Berlin where he was still able to collaborate with Russian theatres, … [Read more...] about Boris Bilinsky: costume and set designer for ballet, opera and film and legendary graphic artist

A new ballet company for Italy? Rome’s mayor announces a project for the Italian National Ballet

6 September 2012 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

The Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, has announced, We are working on a project with Carla Fracci to create a National Ballet Company which can bring the Rome experience to a national level. The … [Read more...] about A new ballet company for Italy? Rome’s mayor announces a project for the Italian National Ballet

The dance drain: who will save ballet in Italy?

10 July 2012 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Italians are great dancers, but they don't get much opportunity to demonstrate that in their homeland. The history of ballet is adorned with Italian talent: Giuseppina Bozzacchi was the … [Read more...] about The dance drain: who will save ballet in Italy?

Special events banned near Rome tourist icons until 2012

4 October 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Special events will be banned at Rome's iconic tourist attractions Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain until the end of the year because of a rash of recent attacks by vandals. Rome Mayor Gianni … [Read more...] about Special events banned near Rome tourist icons until 2012

Milanese are ‘the coolest dressers in Europe’

14 September 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

The Milanese are the coolest dressers in Europe according to a new poll from TripAdvisor. The trendy inhabitants of Milan beat out their counterparts in Paris, Rome and London thanks to the way they … [Read more...] about Milanese are ‘the coolest dressers in Europe’

The Coppolas and the Ecclestones: two very different Italian weddings

29 August 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Sofia Coppola and Petra Ecclestone, held weddings in Italy over the weekend, one low-key and the other over-the-top. Filmmaker Coppola and her longtime musician boyfriend, Phoenix frontman Thomas … [Read more...] about The Coppolas and the Ecclestones: two very different Italian weddings

Woody Allen in Rome to start his latest movie

7 July 2011 by Gramilano 3 Comments

After much anticipation, gossip and hearsay, Woody Allen is poised to launch production on his new Rome feature, receiving an official send-off from the mayor of Rome who gave the filmmaker the city's … [Read more...] about Woody Allen in Rome to start his latest movie

Rome gets its music bridge on the 2764th anniversary

19 April 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Rome is set to celebrate the 2764th anniversary of its founding on Thursday with the inauguration of a new bridge across the River Tiber. The structure has been called the Ponte della Musica, 'Bridge … [Read more...] about Rome gets its music bridge on the 2764th anniversary

After 500 years the Romans finally give Lorenzo Lotto his dues

3 April 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Living in Covent Garden with London's National Gallery on my doorstep, I often used its galleries as a useful shortcut between Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. As the gallery has free entrance … [Read more...] about After 500 years the Romans finally give Lorenzo Lotto his dues

Muti goes against doctors orders and conducts Nabucco in Rome

13 March 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Last night, only a month after being fitted with a pacemaker and having facial sugery after a fall, Riccardo Muti went against the wishes of his Chicago doctors and conducted Nabucco at the Rome … [Read more...] about Muti goes against doctors orders and conducts Nabucco in Rome

Woody Allen chooses Rome for his next film

8 March 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica Woody Allen announced that he would be filming in Rome soon. It’s fantastic to have the possibility to work there, like when I shot … [Read more...] about Woody Allen chooses Rome for his next film

The Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome celebrates Lorenzo Lotto

4 March 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

The Italian capital is hosting an exhibition of masterpieces by 16th-century artist Lorenzo Lotto, whose distinctive paintings have enjoyed an upsurge in popularity over recent decades. The … [Read more...] about The Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome celebrates Lorenzo Lotto

Sara Mearns, swan queen extraordinaire, in a 2006 interview with Time Out magazine: A Swan is Born

19 February 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Mearns, who joined the New York City Ballet in 2004, became a soloist in 2006 soon after her début in Swan Lake. She became Principal Dancer in 2008. This is an interview she left soon after her first … [Read more...] about Sara Mearns, swan queen extraordinaire, in a 2006 interview with Time Out magazine: A Swan is Born

Carla Fracci attends Rome’s first dance fair

16 January 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Roma in Danza finishes today after three days of lessons, conferences and performances with dance styles from hip-hop to ballet represented. The event mimics Milan dance fair, the last edition at … [Read more...] about Carla Fracci attends Rome’s first dance fair

Muti’s triumph with Rossini’s Moïse et Pharaon: and his first “encore” in 25 years

4 December 2010 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

"Stay with us!" yelled an enthusiastic supporter during the applause at the opening of Moïse et Pharaon in Rome. Riccardo Muti has been toying with the idea of becoming the musical director of the … [Read more...] about Muti’s triumph with Rossini’s Moïse et Pharaon: and his first “encore” in 25 years

Carla Fracci and Antonio Pappano awarded the De Sica prize by Italy’s president

27 November 2010 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Several important figures in Italian cultural life, including Monica Bellucci and Luca De Filippo, gathered in the Quirinale Palace in Rome, the official residence of the President of the Italian … [Read more...] about Carla Fracci and Antonio Pappano awarded the De Sica prize by Italy’s president

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE

Gramilano newsletter 2019

CATEGORIES

FOLLOW

  • 21,000 Subscribers
  • 22,866 Followers
  • 235k Followers
  • 602 Subscribers
  • 3,435 Followers
  • 20,023 Followers

NEWS

The Florence opera house to sell its vast archive to avoid closure

La Scala Ballet Season 2023-2024

La Scala Opera Season 2023-2024

Gustavo Dudamel to leave the Paris Opera at end of 22/23 season

Royal Opera House announces 2023-2024 opera and ballet Cinema Season

Royal Ballet’s three one-act ballets – Wayne McGregor (world premiere) | Wheeldon | MacMillan

The bizarre story of Italian opera house musical chairs – Meyer, Fuortes, Lissner

Blake Works V – La Scala presents a new work from William Forsythe – “You can get a lot done with calm.”

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s summer bill: Apollo – Interlinked – ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café

@giselle – a modern reimagining

FEATURED POSTS

You choose it out of Love! Dancing with the Khan-MacKay family

Jakub Józef Orliński

In conversation with Jakub Józef Orliński

Lawrence Brownlee, © Shervin Lainez

Interview with tenor Lawrence Brownlee on being a black man in America: Cycles of My Being

franco fagioli © thibault stipal, 2014

Franco Fagioli answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Grand Pas Classique at English National Ballet, photo by Laurent Liotardo

Introducing 19-year-old Canadian dancer Shale Wagman: from Lausanne to ENB to the Mariinsky

Renata Scotto with Maria Callas

Renata Scotto vs Maria Callas – the 1970 fight at La Scala

Vadim Muntagirov answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Coppélia with Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nunez, photo by Bill Cooper ROH

Interview: The Royal Ballet’s Ballet Master, Christopher Carr, on mounting Coppélia, the company’s dancers and technique

Thomas Hampson by Jiyang Chen

Thomas Hampson answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

Steven McRae by Rick Guest crop

The Royal Ballet’s Steven McRae on injury: turning weakness into strength

GRAHAM SPICER

Writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like. I was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. My scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times. I write the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.

You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or follow my Facebook page.

Referred-to-by

SEARCH

Copyright © 2023 · Gramilano · All rights reserved

about me · contact me · privacy and cookies

Would you like to receive an email
whenever we publish a new post?

SUBSCRIBE