Mirella Freni, who would have been 85 on 27 February, has died at her home in Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. She had been fighting an illness for a long while and died surrounded by friends and family. Her coffin will be placed in Modena’s Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti on the morning […]
Teresa Berganza
Great musicologist Philip Gossett remembered by his colleagues and friends
Philip Gossett called himself “a fan, a musician and a scholar,” in that order. The great music scholar, who died yesterday in Chicago at the age of 75, saw himself first and foremost as a fan. It was his love and passion for opera, especially Italian opera of the 19th century, which led him to […]
Giovanna d’Arco – the background of La Scala’s latest production
On 7 December 2015, La Scala’s 2015-2016 Season opens with Giuseppe Verdi’s Giovanna d’Arco, which had its premiere at La Scala on 15 February 1845, but hasn’t been staged at the Milanese theatre since 1865. Bringing back this opera after 150 years is part of the artistic and cultural line that will link the following […]
Talents young and old(er) for La Scala’s Barber of Seville
Lilly Jorstad. Note the name. You’ll be hearing it more and more over the next few years. Lilly Jorstad is Rosina in La Scala’s Il barbiere di Siviglia yet she is just halfway through her course at La Scala’s Academy. She has a quicksilver coloratura, a natural rich mezzo colour, an attractive physical presence (huge […]
Jennifer Larmore answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A When did you start singing? I always sang. My mother told me that I sang even before I talked. I also cannot remember a time when I didn’t sing. Why did you start singing? It has been the most natural thing in the world for me to sing. I always enjoyed it. I liked […]
Happy 80th Birthday Mirella Freni… from La Scala – in photos and video
Mirella Freni is eighty, and to celebrate her birthday La Scala threw open its doors to her fans and opera lovers to see the great soprano once again on the stage that was hers for so many years. A feisty Freni strode onstage and seemed surprised and visibly moved by the long standing ovation. She […]
Cecilia Bartoli: the generous mezzo makes the front page
Cecilia Bartoli, basking in the glory of her successful series of Normas in Salzburg, yesterday become the cover girl of the French newspaper Libération. The centre-left paper, founded by Jean-Paul Satre in the 1970s, has never had an opera singer on the front page, at least, not a living one. A photo of Bartoli was […]
Teresa Berganza’s 80th birthday Gala: This is the happiest day of my life!
Teresa Berganza is 80. While that fact may have surprised many (see article) it was certainly an occasion to celebrate, and a Royal Gala in the mezzo’s home city was just the thing! The concert at Madrid’s Teatro Real mixed established opera stars with young singers including some of Berganza’s protégés. A well-chosen programme highlighted Berganza’s […]
The mystery of Teresa Berganza’s true age
Wikipedia states, Teresa Berganza, born on 16 March 1935, is a Spanish mezzo-soprano. So how many fans were surprised to hear the announcement of a gala last Friday in Madrid to honour her 80th birthday. At the gala’s end, Berganza came on stage to make a well-articulated and passionate speech about art, teaching and Spanish music, […]
Teresa Berganza’s 80th birthday bash
Tomorrow evening, 21 June 2013, the Teatro Real in Madrid celebrates the 80th birthday of local girl Teresa Berganza. Certainly, the encyclopedias say that she was born in 1935, but she can hardly have posters announcing celebrations for her 78th birthday, so I guess time has finally caught up with her. Sylvain Cambreling and Alejo […]