Word: scala
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Scala, the fabled, 189-year-old queen of the world's opera companies, made its first appearance in North America last week at Expo 67. For per formers and audiences alike, the event turned out to be a compound of agonies and ecstasies...
Like the other opera troupes that have visited Montreal this year, La Scala had problems in trimming its sets and staging to fit the cramped dimensions of Montreal's Salle Wilfrid Pelletier. Unlike the others, it met the crisis with passionate disorganization: breaks between acts stretched out to 45 minutes, while bumps, crashes and muffled Italian curses were heard through the curtain. The productions themselves often recalled the bad old days when tempos dawdled indulgently, singers postured in front of improbable sets and acting was of the clutch-sob-and-stagger school. But by sticking to the 19th century...
Belting Their Best. La Scala's two Verdi productions, Il Trovatore and Nabucco, illustrated the company's faults-and how it turns them into virtues. Both performances tended to be concerts in costume. Nicola Benois' massive, upward-sweeping sets were effective in a traditional vein. Nabucco, in particular, had moments of rousing stagecraft, especially when a 35-ft. purple statue of Baal split down the middle and the surrounding temple exploded, filling the stage and auditorium with steam. But mostly the singers forgot about the drama and one another, turned toward the audience, and simply belted...
Podgorny visited the huge industrial complex at Turin, was guest of honor at a gala performance of Rigoletto at La Scala in Milan, presided shortly thereafter at the signing of an official agreement for joint cinema production between the Soviet Union and Italy. He stayed at the Quirinale Palace during his visit to Saragat, but then moved out to take up residence at the Soviet embassy. Reason for the move: this week Podgorny was to become the first Soviet chief of state to visit the Pope, and he wanted to make clear his recognition that the Vatican and Italy...
...through the welter of new works, struggling young composers have discovered that one quick way to command attention is to win a musical joust. One of the most impressive of such champions is England's Wilfred Josephs; by winning the $5,000 top prize in the first La Scala competition with his Requiem, he gained international recognition and the sweet satisfaction of having conductors court him for a change...