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At 88, Elaine Stritch bows out for good
With “Elaine Stritch at the Carlyle: Movin’ Over and Out” which runs from 2 — 6 April one of the greatest stars of the stage leaves it for good. Elaine Stritch, with her signature leggings and white...
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The Houdini of dance: Sergei Polunin disappears again
Faster than it takes to escape from a Turkish prison, ballet’s bad boy Sergei Polunin has disappeared from Peter Schaufuss’ production of Midnight Express. The show is due to open on Tuesday in London...
View ArticleCecilia Bartoli on her sensual Norma and returning to La Scala
“It will not be a normal Norma!” joked Cecilia Bartoli to the Corriere della Sera’s Giuseppina Manin. A joke that works better in Italian: “Sarà una Norma fuori norma!” She has sung the role in concert...
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Maggie Smith portrait added to the National Portrait Gallery collection
The National Portrait Gallery, London, has unveiled its most recent commissioned portrait, a painting of Dame Maggie Smith by James Lloyd. The large (six feet by three) oil painting shows the actress...
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Denis Matvienko is ‘fired’ as artistic director of the Kiev Ballet
Denis Matvienko has been ‘fired’ as artistic director of the Kiev Ballet, but it was a position that apparently he had never officially held. From November 2011 he has been fulfilling the role, but has...
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Police helicopters circle overhead as Cecilia Bartoli returns to Rome
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...
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Jailed Bolshoi dancer Dmitrichenko is refused bail
Bolshoi soloist Paul Dmitrichenko in court today announced his intention to seek justice; he is accused of causing grievous bodily harm, instigating the acid attack on the Bolshoi Ballet’s artistic...
View ArticleNational Ballet of Canada brings Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet to London
The National Ballet of Canada will perform Alexei Ratmansky’s new production of Romeo and Juliet from tonight, 17 April, until 21 April at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre. The ballet has obviously...
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Greta Hodgkinson answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition
Q&A When did you start dancing? At 4 years old. Why did you start dancing? As a child, I was always dancing around the house so it made sense. What’s your favourite role? Giselle. What role have...
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Bartoli’s back on the treasure trail with her Norma video
After offering clues taken from ‘webisodes’ filmed during the recording of Cecilia Bartoli’s cd Mission, which eventually led to the name of the composer featured on the disc, Decca are being cunning...
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80-year-old Montserrat Caballé cancels concerts after breaking an arm
A resilient Montserrat Caballé, still singing into her 80s, has been forced to cancel upcoming concerts in April and May after breaking an arm. She had dates in Austria, Switzerland and Germany,...
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Walter Venditti: the 84-year-old ballet teacher who keeps Milan on its toes
Milan is the sort of city which empties as soon as holidays arrive, and in Italy there are lots of holidays. The schools are shut and so are private dancing schools… except for that of Walter Venditti....
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Too cold for Giselle: Royal New Zealand Ballet cancels prestigious date in China
The Royal New Zealand Ballet cancelled the two performances of Giselle programmed for 20–21 April in Tianjin in China because it was too cold. The Tianjin Grand Theatre is an enormous modern structure...
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Nikolai Tsiskaridze falls silent, afraid of dismissal from the Bolshoi
Bolshoi Theatre’s Nikolai Tsiskaridze, fearing dismissal from the company, refuses to communicate with the press without permission from the Bolshoi’s spokesman Katerina Novikova. Tsiskaridze was asked...
View ArticleDecca gives up on puzzles and clues with the new clip of Cecilia Bartoli’s Norma
After fiddling around with clues for the Mission cd, and trying out a couple of days ago an on-screen puzzle for the new Norma recording, Decca have now decided to keep their promo campaign plain and...
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Anna Proclemer — powerful Italian stage actress — dies at 89
Anna Proclemer (Trento, 30 May 1923 – Rome, 25 April 2013) One of Italy’s greatest actresses died this morning on the eve of her 90th birthday. Anna Proclemer was primarily a stage animal with a...
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The curse of the La Scala recital series? Barenboim bows out
Ok, the headline is a bit over the top, but the vocal recitals at La Scala have been having a spot of bad luck recently, especially seeing that there are only seven recitals each season. Just over a...
View ArticleCarla Fracci at the La Scala Theatre Ballet School celebrations
The La Scala Theatre Ballet School was formed 200 years ago, and its students are celebrating with a week of shows at Milan’s Teatro Strehler. At last night’s opening performance Carla Fracci, maybe...
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Scandal ’63: The 50th anniversary of the Profumo Affair
On display at the National Portrait Gallery, London, from 30 April until 15 September 2013 is a free exhibition to mark the passing of half-a-century since the Profumo Affair scandal. The British...
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Pavarotti gets his own mineral water and exhibition
The makers of San Pellegrino mineral water have teamed up with the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation to produce bottles of still and sparkling with the Pavarotti label. The international launch of the...
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