Mercoledi Musicale

Though not quite as famous as its counter-part in Vienna, the Concerto Capodanno at La Fenice in Venezia is a popular New Year's Day celebration in Italy. And its presented in one of the loveliest opera houses in the world (second in my humble opinion only to San Carlo in Napoli). I've posted several times about  the senseless torching of La Fenice in1996 and its subsequent rise from the burnt out shell I recall seeing that same year.  Though there was much discussion - to the point of fisticuffs - about rebuilding to slavishly replicate the destroyed house the traditionalists won and the theatre was rebuilt in 19th-century style on the basis of a design by architect Aldo Rossi and using still photographs from the opening scenes of Luchino Visconti's 1954 film Senso, which was filmed in the house, in order to obtain details of its design.  I must admit that on my one visit there I tended to lean towards the side of the critics who complained that the colours were too bright - but perhaps with the passing of time and the neglect that is known in maintaining Italian opera houses it will acquire a dulling patina.  But even with its slightly faux air it is a lovely venue to celebrate the New Year.

This year's concert left no doubt who's bicentennial birth was being celebrated in 2013 - there was a bit of Rossini, a Tchaikovsky symphony but the main works were all Verdi - all the time.  This year the conductor was Sir John Eliot Gardner and the featured soloists Desiree Rancatore and Saimir Pirgu.  And during the Brindisi from La Traviata which traditionally brings every Concerto Capodanno to a close Italy's premier danseur and poster boy that we all love Roberto Bolle strutted his stuff.

I'm not sure where the dance sequence was staged it - Laurent seems to think it is one of the grand hotels along the Lido. This year's concert was peppered with dance numbers staged at various locales; though they gave us an opportunity to see some stunning interiors and an opening that showed our Roberto is as fit as a fiddle and ready for whatever they did seem a bit extraneous.

At last year's concert under Diego Matheuz with Jessica Pratt and Walter Fraccaro toasting the New Year the dance sequences were filmed within La Fenice itself. There are some great shots of the main staircase and assembly rooms and that final shot on the Grand Canal gets me every time!

 A belated "Auguri" to my darling friends in Italy - I still miss you all very much.  Bacissimi e dopo!

02 January - 1976: The Gale of January 1976 begins, which results in coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts,

World AIDS Day 2010 - Part II

I have referred to Roberto Bole occasionally in postings both as a great dancer and as a sex symbol and though he is both those things he is decidedly more than that. Back in 1999 at a Gala here at Rome's Teatro dell'Opera he was appointed a UNICEF Ambassador with the special task of raising awareness of the problems of the young.  It is a role he has taken seriously especially with the rising problem of children in Africa born with AIDS or left orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.

I was particularly taken by this photo that appeared recently on my friend Opera Chic's blog along with a post on Bolle's recent trip to Central Africa.


When I saw this picture I thought of all the people who preach that AIDS is God's punishment and thought: what has this child done that deserves any sort of punishment particularly this dreadful disease?

01 decembre - La giornata mondiale contro l'AIDS

He's It's Hot

Its been a real scorching few weeks here and the long range says the next two months will be more of the same. Since the second week in June temperatures have been averaging 35-36 with not a cloud in sight. Actually I lie, there has been the odd cloud but not a rain drop in sight. And though I've been doing my bit to conserve water (using the water from the air conditioning - turned low to save energy - to water the plants)- the public water taps are still running freely, as they have done since the First Republic. Romans take that as their entitlement - though the high calcium content of the otherwise pure water could account for the number of people with kidney stones.

Reading my friend EG this week I realized how much water we do drink here. We'll go through a 1.5 bottle between the two of us at dinner, the same at lunch. And if there's a large group for a meal its not unusual to go through five or six bottles. Of course where water is concerned there are two schools - correction three: frizante, naturale and legemente frizante. We're a frizante family ourselves though its funny how in most restaurants the minute the waiters hear our fractured Italian assume we'll have naturale.

Now you may have noticed that Roberto Bolle ad at the top of the post - it is not there for the lascivious reasons you first assumed and I am frankly offended that you would think that of me. Not at all - Robertolicious is the spokesperson for one of the many brands of water available here. And my good friend Opera Chic, in the spirit of civic duty, brought the new television ad campaign to our attention. A click on the ad above will take you to her posting and 90 seconds of Tchaikovsky, dancing, water and Roberto.

Is it me or is it getting hotter in here?

12 lulgio - San Gaulberto

After the Bolle's Over

Well last night was the night, Roberto came to Roma and the town succumbed. Teatro dell'Opera was packed - not a poltroni or palci to be had - with the great, the near great and the "don't I just think I'm great!" There were insane Italian TV personalities, Bolle-boppers of both sexes, Government Ministers, movers in the arts world, dancers - we shared our box with a lovely ex-dancer and her husband - and then those of us that just wanted to see the ballet... oh okay and Bolle.

And make no mistake Bolle was the reason we were there and he knew it but in a rather modest self-effacing way. He shared the stage with 10 other dancers - all leading dancers with their respective companies - and only appeared in four of the eleven numbers. It was a mixed programme with a fascinating range of choreography: from the Romantic (the Petipa Esmeralda and Swan Lake, the Coralli/Perrot Giselle) to 20th century classics (Petit's Carmen and MacMillan's Manon) to the modern (John Neumeier, Jiri Kylian, Jiri Bubenieck and Ben Van Cauwenbergh.)

Highlights? Well of the Bolle's bits the Carmen with Polina Seminova was well done if slightly cool (but then no one sizzled in Carmen quite like Zizi.) But the Manon finale with the Royal Ballet's Mara Galeazzi tore the place apart. The impassioned dance that MacMillan created for Des Grieux and the dying Manon blazed across the stage with raw intensity - God I wish I had seen Bolle and Ferri in it.

The rest of the selections were well danced but the two that grabbed the audience's attention the most were a male pas de deux and a male pas de trois. Neurmeier's Opus 100 for Morice danced by Otto Bubenicek and Ivan Urban, a simple but beautiful tribute to friendship and affection was brilliantly danced to the music of Simon and Garfunkel (Friends and Bridge Over Troubled Waters.) Equally well received was Jiri Bubenieck's Le Souffle de L'Esprit with Urban and Bubenicek joined by Alexandre Riabko dancing an exuberant number to the Pachabel Cannon. All three are with the Hamburg Ballet which suggests they have a very strong group of male soloists. Kylian's Bella Figura as danced by the Nederlands Dans Theater's Natasha Novotna and Vaclav Kunes had some stunning visual moments. And Novotna closed the evening with Bolle in Kylian's Petite Mort which was a stunning opportunity to admire their joint technique and Bolle's near naked body. But understand we were there for the ballet!

The only gripe about the evening - the recorded music. It worked in the modern dances but worked against the dancers in the classical pas de deux. Normally a ballet conductor bases the tempi on the dancers, here the dancers were at times forcing themselves to keep up with the recorded tempi. And Roberto could have given us an encore!

There were only three ad pages in the nicely done free programme - the one above, another for a 5 star Hotel in Rome and the one below.


Bolle was appointed a UNICEF Ambassador several years ago and has shown special support for children of the Sudan.

04 decembre - Santa Barbara

You Shall Go to the Bolle Cinderella

Well I was expecting the Roberto Bolle Gala at the Teatro dell'Opera to be sold out within minutes of tickets going online but the listing still hasn't appeared as of noon today. As I was heading to Centro to get my hair cut - when you find a "barbiere di qualita" who can do something with what's left of my hair you stay with him not matter the distance - I dropped in at the Box Office and was able to pick up extremely good seats about an hour after sales had opened. I'm not sure why its not selling out given the amount of publicity our boy Bobby is getting these days but it could be the high (for Rome) price of tickets.



Thought I would just post this video of a scene from Excelsior with Bolle (fully dressed for a change)mostly because of its kitsch value. This was the great hit in the 1880s and celebrates the progress of the 19th into the 20th century: Electricity, light, the telegraph, the steam engine, the Brooklyn Bridge(!!!), tunnels linking France and Italy, the Suez Canal are all recreated in a series of tableaux. It's been referred to as Le Cosaire meets H.G. Wells and it looks like great fun. Its in the repetorie of La Scala and I'm just hoping they revive it sometime in the next four years.

08 novembre - San Goffredo

Bolled Over

It's just been announced that Roberto Bolle, the incredible Italian ballet star, will be appearing here December 8th - the day before my birthday - in a ballet Gala. I've suggested to Laurent that since he didn't get me tickets for opening night at La Scala (only E1500 a seat) for my 60th last year that it would only be right if he lined up at 0600 next Wednesday when tickets go on sale for the Gala.



Now understand this has nothing to do with the fact that Bolle is f...g gorgeous and has a body that a less cultured person would think of doing all sorts of unsavory barre exercises with. He's one of the top male dancers in the world today and I've wanted to see him dance since I first read about his appearances in London back almost 8 years ago.



And he's f....g gorgeous and has a body that a less cultured person would think of doing all sorts of unsavory barre exercises with!

1 novembre - Ognissanti