OPERA SEASON 2018 - 2019La Scala announced its 2018-2019 Opera season today with 15 titles, nine of which are new productions, and two are La Scala premieres.At the heart of the season remains the Italian repertoire, continuing with the cycle of works of Verdi, Puccini, Verismo (which will return in 2020 with Giordano’s Fedora and Montemezzi’s L’amore dei tre re), and the … [Read more...] about La Scala, Milan: Opera and Recital Season 2018 – 2019
Valery Gergiev
Franco Vassallo answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A in italianoWhen did you start singing? When I was 11 to a disc of Rigoletto with Gobbi, Callas and Di Stefano; a blanket on my shoulder and an umbrella served as my cloak and sword!Above all I loved "La donna è mobile" and the role of the Duke of Mantua; my voice would crack but I didn’t give in!Why did you start singing? Because I thought it was … [Read more...] about Franco Vassallo answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
14 minutes of applause for Anna Netrebko at La Scala in La traviata [interview and photos]
Anna Netrebko has returned to La Scala to sing Violetta as she sings ‘addio’ to the role. She will sing in a Traviata once more in Paris next February, and then that’s it for the curvy Russian and the consumptive courtesan. The idea of tackling this role at La Scala was my idea, so I talked it over with Pereira. I was very worried about it and extremely nervous. Singing … [Read more...] about 14 minutes of applause for Anna Netrebko at La Scala in La traviata [interview and photos]
Xander Parish on life with the Mariinsky Ballet
You were recently promoted to First Soloist at the Mariinsky Ballet. Happy? Yes, I was promoted after a show of Giselle back in January and it was quite out of the blue! Leaving the corps Xander Parish joined the Mariinsky as a Coryphée in 2010 after twiddling his thumbs for five years at The Royal Ballet. He was 23, frustrated with his spear-carrying duties and itching to … [Read more...] about Xander Parish on life with the Mariinsky Ballet
Vaganova Ballet Academy to open a new school in Vladivostok – 10,000 km from St Petersburg
by guest blogger Elizaveta DilanyanOn 18 June it was announced that Vaganova Ballet Academy will open a second campus in Vladivostok, the capital of the Primorsky Krai province, in far eastern Russian, almost 10,000 km away from St Petersburg in the extreme west by car or train. The train journey will take almost week, though the more affluent could hop on a plane for … [Read more...] about Vaganova Ballet Academy to open a new school in Vladivostok – 10,000 km from St Petersburg
Maya Plisetskaya’s 90th birthday celebrated in concerts and exhibitions
20 November 2015 would have been Maya Plisetskaya's 90th birthday. The great Russian ballerina, who died on 2 May this year, will be remembered in a series of events in Moscow and St Petersburg.On 18 November her friend, and musical director of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev gave a concert at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in her memory, with a programme that … [Read more...] about Maya Plisetskaya’s 90th birthday celebrated in concerts and exhibitions
Nikolay Tsiskaridze’s first two years at the helm of the Vaganova
The 28th of October 2015 marked the end of Nikolay Tsiskaridze’s first two years as head of the Vaganova Academy and the staff celebrated the occasion with a small get together.His appointment was controversial at the time, and many high ranking dancers and administrators spoke out against the Bolshoi dancer being given the top job at the Mariinsky school, a school that he … [Read more...] about Nikolay Tsiskaridze’s first two years at the helm of the Vaganova
Romeo and Juliet with the Mariinsky in Milan… and no nude kings
What a great evening out: Romeo and Juliet with the Mariinsky and Valery Gergiev conducting. However, not a costume or piece of scenery in sight… just Gergiev with his orchestra performing the Romeo and Juliet Suite n°1, which is the one which finishes with Tybalt’s death scene. The concert was part of the magnificent MiTo musical festival held in Milano (Mi) and Torino (To) … [Read more...] about Romeo and Juliet with the Mariinsky in Milan… and no nude kings
Cecilia Bartoli: “Contemporary composers can’t write for opera singers like me”
I've been following this project for eight years and I've been to St Petersburg many times in train or by ship, because I don't like flying; one of the most beautiful trips was on the icebreaker from Lübeck in Germany.I put on gloves and rummaged through the archives of the Mariinsky Theatre, through documents that are centuries old, and finally I found the scores of the … [Read more...] about Cecilia Bartoli: “Contemporary composers can’t write for opera singers like me”
Tsiskaridze’s reputation is not as high as state officials’ wives would have you believe
Earlier today, teachers at the Vaganova Ballet Academy published an open letter, written in four languages, to President Vladimir Putin asking him to reconsider the appointment of Nikolay Tsiskaridze as the new school principal.Diana Vishneva was one of the first to openly criticise Tsiskaridze's appointment, saying that it could ruin the future of the renowned institution. … [Read more...] about Tsiskaridze’s reputation is not as high as state officials’ wives would have you believe