Sylive Guillem will be in Venice tomorrow to receive from the Biennale the Leone d'oro (Golden Lion) for "having redesigned the form of the dancer, defying the laws of physics". Valeria Crippa of the Corriere della Sera talked to her about aspects of her career. I could have ended up like a cork bobbing along on the water at the whim of the currents. Instead … [Read more...] about Sylvie Guillem on why she’s still ‘Mademoiselle Non’
Venice
Madonna thanks her ex-husbands for encouraging her movie career
Madonna thanked her ex-husbands for encouraging her to take up a career in movies, as she arrived in Venice on Thursday for the world premiere of her lavish royal drama "W.E." The 53-year-old American has been married to actor and director Sean Penn and British film maker Guy Ritchie, and has spent much of the last few years behind the camera rather than on the stage. I am … [Read more...] about Madonna thanks her ex-husbands for encouraging her movie career
Polanski made Winslet vomit and the Venetian audience laughed
He may have been absent, but Roman Polanski made his presence felt at the Venice film festival today, September 1, with his comedy "Carnage," in which Oscar-winner Kate Winslet's projectile vomit prompted the biggest laugh. Some of the adaptation of Yasmina Reza's stage comedy "The God of Carnage" was written by the Franco-Polish film maker while he was under house arrest in … [Read more...] about Polanski made Winslet vomit and the Venetian audience laughed
Alex Ross at the grave of Stravinsky
Yesterday I took a vaporetto out to San Michele, the cemetery island of Venice. It was seven-thirty on a Sunday morning, and my only fellow passengers were several elderly people whom I took to be widows and widowers, bearing flowers for their loved ones. I was preparing to pay my respects to Igor Stravinsky, who loved Venice and held the premieres of The Rake's Progress, … [Read more...] about Alex Ross at the grave of Stravinsky
Carla Fracci in this week’s (Italian) Vanity Fair
In 1983 Palmolive were looking for "the face" to represent their products. The look had to be "acqua e sapone" (literally "water and soap", meaning a look that was fresh and natural). They chose Carla Fracci. Fracci became their poster girl for several years. Her beautiful house on the canal in Venice is called Palmolive, paid for not with the sweat and tears of dancing, but … [Read more...] about Carla Fracci in this week’s (Italian) Vanity Fair
Luca Pisaroni – the new bass-baritone on the block
With ten years of professional singing under his belt, Luca Pisaroni is starting to make big waves. Here is a well-disciplined voice with a personality, whose owner is good actor and has a charming stage presence. You might have caught him in Giorgio Strehler's legendary production of Le Nozze di Figaro at the Opéra Bastille in 2010 where he was part of an extraordinary cast … [Read more...] about Luca Pisaroni – the new bass-baritone on the block