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Gramilano

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Russia

Mud will be slung tonight: Tsiskaridze and Volochkova expose prostitution at the Bolshoi

20 March 2013 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Ex-Bolshoi dancer Anastasia Volochkova and current Bolshoi star and stirrer Nikolai Tsiskaridze have been on Russian television to add even more mud to an already murky pond. The Bolshoi's general … [Read more...] about Mud will be slung tonight: Tsiskaridze and Volochkova expose prostitution at the Bolshoi

Russian virtuoso guitar player has all his fingers amputated

30 January 2013 by Gramilano 3 Comments

Alexey Zimakov, the winner of the 1991 American Guitar Association Competition in Miami, and a virtuoso player has had all the fingers on both hands amputated after contracting severe frostbite in his … [Read more...] about Russian virtuoso guitar player has all his fingers amputated

Great Russian soprano Galina Vishnevskaya dies at 86

11 December 2012 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Russian opera legend Galina Vishnevskaya has died today, December 11, at the age of 86. Vishnevskaya was born in St Petersburg (Leningrad) 25 October 1926, and cast out by her parents at six weeks. … [Read more...] about Great Russian soprano Galina Vishnevskaya dies at 86

79-year-old Montserrat Caballé in hospital after a stroke and breaking her arm

24 October 2012 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Montserrat Caballé, now 79, suffered a stroke while in Russia and, while briefly losing consciousness, fell and broke an arm. She was flown last Saturday to the Sant Pau hospital in Barcelona where … [Read more...] about 79-year-old Montserrat Caballé in hospital after a stroke and breaking her arm

Battle of the pointes: Grishko and the threat of plastic

3 November 2011 by Gramilano 4 Comments

Nikolay Grishko runs the company he founded by in the late 1980s after accompanying his professional dancer-wife Tamara during a French tour: Russian dancers were bringing ballet shoes from theatre … [Read more...] about Battle of the pointes: Grishko and the threat of plastic

La Scala’s Raymonda “is a true banquet: pomp, circumstance, and an entire world on stage”, says the Financial Times

31 October 2011 by Gramilano 1 Comment

The Financial Times visited Milan's historic theatre to witness Sergei Vikharev’s reconstruction of Raymonda - a production which is sending ripples of interest and excitement around the ballet … [Read more...] about La Scala’s Raymonda “is a true banquet: pomp, circumstance, and an entire world on stage”, says the Financial Times

Newsweek finds out what makes Anna Netrebko tick… and why she hates ‘toska’

26 September 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

  The papers are full of interviews with Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, especially during this, the month of her 40th birthday. They are not exactly carbon copies of each other, but very … [Read more...] about Newsweek finds out what makes Anna Netrebko tick… and why she hates ‘toska’

Ivan Vasiliev to guest with English National Ballet as a tribute to Roland Petit

21 July 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Bolshoi Ballet’s Ivan Vasiliev will dance Roland Petit’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort with English National Ballet tomorrow evening, July 22. He is partnered with English National Ballet First Artist Jia … [Read more...] about Ivan Vasiliev to guest with English National Ballet as a tribute to Roland Petit

Doodles in the Bolshoi archives

20 July 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

The death of a tyrant, abduction by the secret police and insight into the minds of some of the greatest composers in history are all part of the details that Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre has discovered … [Read more...] about Doodles in the Bolshoi archives

Nacho Duato, tradition and revolution at the Mikhailovsky Ballet

4 May 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Ever since Duato breezed into the “dusty and creaky” Mikhailovsky, he has been tearing the place up. “No need for the classical movements here,” Duato tells a dancer in rehearsal. “Forget the port des … [Read more...] about Nacho Duato, tradition and revolution at the Mikhailovsky Ballet

Gennady Yanin comments for the first time on the recent Bolshoi sex scandal, “I don’t need anybody’s sympathy”

4 April 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Anatoly Iksanov, the general director of the Bolshoi Theatre, has confirmed that what's seemed like a never-ending reconstruction of the Bolshoi's historic building is finally coming to an end; he … [Read more...] about Gennady Yanin comments for the first time on the recent Bolshoi sex scandal, “I don’t need anybody’s sympathy”

Osipova and Vasiliev shine in the live relay of Don Quixote from Moscow

6 March 2011 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

23 countries shared the experience of this broadcast in high-definition from the Bolshoi with 460 cinemas around the globe participating. Imagine the pressure that the dancers of this Don Quixote were … [Read more...] about Osipova and Vasiliev shine in the live relay of Don Quixote from Moscow

The Paris Opera Ballet dances at the Bolshoi for the first time since the fall of communism

12 February 2011 by Gramilano 2 Comments

This week the Bolshoi Theatre's 'New Stage' will host the Paris Opera Ballet for a mixed programme, and next week they will present Preljocaj's Le Parc. It is the first time the company has been in … [Read more...] about The Paris Opera Ballet dances at the Bolshoi for the first time since the fall of communism

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NEWS

New York City Ballet 2023 Spring Season is announced

Principal Brandon Lawrence to leave Birmingham Royal Ballet to join Ballett Zürich

Two new opera recordings to be released by Warner Classics/Erato

Four new Principal dancers for New York City Ballet

LaScalaTv, La Scala’s new streaming platform, is now live

Royal Ballet principal dancer Laura Morera to retire

Pam Tanowitz’s Secret Things, her second world premiere for The Royal Ballet this season

Prix de Lausanne 2023 – the full lineup

Principal dancer Jared Angle to give final performance with NYCB

The Australian Ballet will tour to the Royal Opera House in August 2023

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

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Franco Fagioli answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition

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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.

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