Banished Vittorio Grigolo has turned to Russia for help
NewsThe Italian tenor, banned in 2019 by Covent Garden and the Met for sexual harassment, has been singing in Russia for his supper.
This performance (watch at 1 hour 35) is part of the St Petersburg Ice Cream Festival.
Just one cornetto, thanks.
There’s an ice cream festival? Wow. I won’t go though.
The White Nights festival
Uffa! Truly sad.
The Metropolitan Opera to the St. Petersburg Ice Cream Festival…how the mighty have fallen. Hope he got a free Vlad Cone out of it.
A little sexual harassment probably doesn’t look too serious to Russian authorities when your country is destroying entire cities and killing scores of people, and that before breakfast.
This guy should be banned from every theater. Music mercenario
Come on.
People crying because someone touched them in the wrong place. Get a life stupid smowflakes
He violated the terms of his contract. Take your own advice “smowflake”.
If you are gonna be touched, make sure it’s a famous opera star. Somehow better than the creepy youth pastor at camp.
good luck with the outdoor concerts.
This spring has been one of the coldest and most miserable in 20 years in the Baltic states.
(as well as Moscow & Ural). It followed a cool wet summer of 2021.
This is often the case, hot summer in France = miserable in western Russia or vice versa. (eg. 2010).Basic common sense.
One of the most obvious things for outdoor concerts check the weather, -CANCEL if it’s bad.
2022, I would never dream of doing anything in the Baltic – St Petersburg region until at very least mid summer, this year very possibly no warmth until JULY.
A very long winter, a very short summer.
And? Who cares? At least he earns more money than you, Norman 😉
Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure of that, meme.
Grigolo has been singing since the last year at least at:
-Teatro alla Scala di Milano
-Arena di Verona
-Wiener Staatsoper
-Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
All of those theatres are 1st tier and, honestly, more relevant than then MET and the Covent Garden this current season after the COVID related cuts in the former and the significant downgrade in casts after Brexit in the latter.
But what can you expect from and anglo-american commentator?
Rome and Verona are certainly not of the stature of the Met and Royal Opera and never have been.
Dude, I’m not sure where you’re going with the “But what can you expect from and Anglo-American commentator” (like Charles Burney, Julian Budden, and Alex Ross?) but if you had any taste you wouldn’t be so quick to defend one of the worst tenors to come along in ages. A truly ugly, vein popping voice. A foolishly histrionic stage presence to boot. So try to develop a sense of judgment instead of being impressed by institutions that for whatever reason decided not to toss the guy into the dustbin of third rate pretty boys.
Honestly Gunter, the Met is more relevant to Americans, the Wiener Staatsoper is more relevant to Austrians, Covent Garden to Brits, and La Scala to Italians. Tribalism triumphs. Teatro dell’Opera di Roma comes after La Scala and possibly after San Carlo.
Arena di Verona is Italy’s Icecream Festival. I doubt any serious opera lover considers it relevant.
It seems he is married with an Ukrainian lady. And has the courage to go and sing in Russia now for some euros?
I repeat, that’s a music mercenario or he has no work at all and have to pay the bills somehow.
People on this blog need to raise their frequencies. You treat this site as if it’s the Roman Colosseum of social media platforms, like wildcats after your next victim.
Did any of you actually listen to him sing? On this video recording? My goodness, it gave me goosebumps. Beautiful musicianship. Covent Garden and the Met are over-reacting to cancel this singer for…what, an instance of some perceived sexual harassment? Not all sexual harassment includes physical contact. And it’s not harassment unless it’s ongoing and the target has asked for the behavior to be stopped, but it continues nonetheless. It could have been he told a joke in bad taste. Or it could have been a cultural misunderstanding. It honestly doesn’t take much these days. Was there a trial? Was it very serious?
You realize that one is guilty until proven innocent, right? Instead of the other way around. All it takes in an accusation and one’s reputation is in ruins. The accuser doesn’t even need to prove the veracity of the claim. Gossip and false accusations are very destructive.
His singing gave me goosebumps too but for a different reason.
much ado about nothing. he touched the fake belly of- a dancer during the curtain call. IF you are acquainted with Goethes faust you should know that faust sold his soul to the devil so he refused to touch the belly of the dancer during the performance respecting the baby but could do so aas Grigolo. so just a joke! He was not banned for sexual harrassment but for inappropriate behaviour.He has sung since then in nearly every important op,era house in Europe.in Vienna Tosca Carmen and la Boheme recently with Netreblo also banned for political reasons.I understand that only the Americans and the Brits are pure and guiltless and can throw the first stone.
Said it before, I’ll say it again: the guy should have been booted long before #metoo on the grounds of having a hideous voice. But someone clearly enjoyed having him around.
The stage looks indescribably tacky even for an Icecream Festival.