Charli XCX and the Rewriting of Pop’s Rulebook

Charli XCX continues her ascent as pop’s most thrilling disruptor. With three entries from her latest project “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat”, she proves yet again that she can spin the mundane into shimmering gold. Tracks like “360 featuring Robyn & Yung Lean” and “B2b featuring Tinashe” exist in a hyper-real world where glossy production meets razor-sharp lyricism. It’s pop, but with an avant-garde edge that refuses to play by the rules. And then there’s “Mean Girls featuring Julian Casablancas”, which layers post-punk sensibilities over dancefloor beats, a meeting of minds that feels as effortlessly cool as it does unexpected.

The Dancefloor Renaissance

If 2024 is proving anything, it’s that the dancefloor never really left – it just took a brief sabbatical. MØ’s “Who Said” and D.O.D’s “Feel The Passion” remind us why we fell in love with euphoric beats in the first place. MØ conjures imagery of festival lights cutting through the night, while D.O.D channels the collective energy of dance culture’s revival. These tracks aren’t just for fleeting moments of euphoria – they linger, like the echo of a perfect night out.

Meanwhile, Porter Robinson’s “Something Comforting” feels like electronic catharsis. It’s a sonic embodiment of vulnerability wrapped in shimmering production – music for the overthinkers, the romantics, and those caught somewhere in between. Robinson’s craft invites introspection without sacrificing grandeur, cementing him as one of the genre’s most emotionally astute architects.

Unlikely Collaborations That Hit Different

Pairings like SEVENTEEN and DJ Khaled on “LOVE, MONEY, FAME” and The Black Keys with Beck on “I’m With The Band” reflect the beautifully chaotic state of music today. The former juxtaposes the polished, kinetic energy of K-pop against Khaled’s larger-than-life ethos, while the latter channels the grit and swagger of blues rock through Beck’s effortlessly cool filter. These tracks thrive on contrasts, blending disparate elements to create something greater than the sum of their parts.

Elsewhere, Rihanna’s “SOS” makes a nostalgic reappearance, a reminder of her ability to craft pop anthems that defy generational boundaries. It’s been nearly two decades, but the track still feels as urgent and vibrant as ever – a testament to Rihanna’s enduring influence.

A New Wave of Sonic Storytellers

Artists like Matilda Mann and Father John Misty infuse the playlist with narrative richness. Mann’s “Everything I’m Not” drifts through delicate melodies and introspective lyricism, evoking a sense of yearning that feels personal yet universal. Father John Misty’s “She Cleans Up”, on the other hand, is chamber pop at its finest – textured, immersive, and brimming with a sly self-awareness. These aren’t just songs; they’re diary entries set to music.

Obongjayar’s “Just My Luck” takes experimental R&B to new heights, where rhythm and atmosphere converge to form something hypnotic and compelling. Likewise, Mk.gee’s “ROCKMAN” strikes an exquisite balance between soulful resonance and sonic experimentation, reflecting the ongoing evolution of R&B into something more expansive and genre-fluid.

Afrobeats’ Global Symphony

Afrobeats continues its global ascent with tracks like Davido and YG Marley’s “Awuke” and Burna Boy’s “Bundle By Bundle”. These tracks exude vitality, serving as rhythmic passports to a cultural movement that shows no signs of slowing. Afrobeats isn’t just influencing music – it’s redefining how we experience joy and community on a global scale.

Nostalgia Meets Reinvention

Madonna’s “Frozen” returns with a sense of ethereal grandeur, a reminder that reinvention is the cornerstone of longevity. Similarly, LCD Soundsystem’s “x-ray eyes” weaves indie electronica with existential musings, offering the kind of sonic introspection that resonates long after the final note fades.

Breakbot’s “Fantasy” invites listeners to revel in nu-disco nostalgia, a groovy reminder that sometimes the best way forward is by revisiting the past – albeit with a modern twist.

The Emerging Vanguard

New voices like Willow Kayne and IN PARALLEL provide a glimpse into the next generation of musical trailblazers. “Zenosyne” by Kayne is punchy and self-assured, while “NOW IT’S GONE” channels raw emotion with atmospheric precision. These artists reflect the genre-agnostic future of music, where innovation thrives in the margins.

A Playlist for the Complexities of Now

At its core, this playlist mirrors the beautifully chaotic energy of contemporary life – unpredictable, euphoric, and deeply human. It’s a sonic snapshot of where we are and where we’re heading, soundtracking the moments that define us, from the revelatory to the heart-wrenching.

So press play, and let the music carry you – because whether you’re dancing in your kitchen or spiraling into a reflective haze, there’s something here that resonates. The future of sound is vibrant, unfiltered, and endlessly compelling.

Link on the GLASS homepage and here

The post GLASS curates its seasonal soundtrack for your Winter enjoyment first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

Now headed up by CEO Antoine Pin, the brand’s core collection consists of three iconic families designed by Jack Heuer, cue the TAG Heuer Carrera, Monaco, and Autavia, and it’s rounded out with the contemporary TAG Heuer Link, Aquaracer, Formula 1, and Connected lines.

_{TAG Heuer for 2025 F1}

Back in the driving seat and perfectly exuding its motto, “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” TAG has announced that it is once again the F1’s official timekeeper, and right in time to celebrate 75^th anniversary of Formula 1 this year.

With a rich history in the sport that spans over seven decades, 2025 marks the revival of their partnership that embodies luxury, precision, innovation, performance and speed. After all, TAG Heuer was the first luxury brand to have its logo appear on a Formula 1 car in 1969, the first to sponsor a team in 1971 and, with 239 wins and 15 World Drivers’ Championships to its name, it’s one of the most successful brands in history to be associated with Formula 1.

_{Steve McQueen wearing TAG Heuer}

“In a sport defined by mental resilience, physical strength, strategy, innovation, and performance it is only natural for TAG Heuer to be at the very heart of Formula 1 as Official Timekeeper” says Antoine Pin, CEO of TAG Heuer.

He continues, “With decades of history in F1 connecting us to the most successful drivers and teams of all time, we are honoured and privileged to be the name connected to the very thing that defines the winner: time. As Formula 1 and their exceptional team continue to build on the amazing work that has been done to create one of the greatest properties in sport, we are excited to be part of the journey and create new stories to enrich TAG Heuer.”

_{Ayrton Senna wearing TAG Heuer}

Formula 1 has become one of the most culturally significant and successful sporting championships in the world, with 750 million fans worldwide and a fanbase that’s becoming younger and more diverse—just head over to TikTok to see its popularity amongst a younger audience.

The 2024 season saw 1.5 billion viewers tune into the action-packed season, where the wheel-to-wheel racing went down to the wire between McLaren and Ferrari for the Constructors’ Championship in Abu Dhabi.

On the next stage of the F1 x TAG Heuer partnership, Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO, Formula 1 says the timekeeping brand is a natural fit, “With their focus on innovation, accuracy and excellence, they are a natural partner, and I am excited to see how our intertwining heritage can tell new stories for the future as we celebrate our 75th year.” 

As part of the collaboration, TAG Heuer will have a significant presence both on and off the track, through trackside branding, Fan Zone and Paddock Club activations and new product ranges that encapsulate the drama of Formula 1. Roll on the Australian Grand Prix in March.

by Felicity Carter

The post TAG Heuer is back as Official Timekeeper for Formula 1 first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

AT A time when society’s downturns are increasingly commonplace, dashes of feel-good optimism tend to be few and far between. For centuries, though, the arts have consistently and ingeniously trod the line between tradition and sophistication, innovation and intellectualism, with surprising and thought-provoking results that push our inner consciousness to far-fetched realms, becoming a no-brainer when seeking a soothing respite amid the world’s frantic chaos.

For Hugo Marchand, the art of dancing felt like a tool he could use to mould his freedom. “As a kid, I remember being in the studio, realising that my body was going to be a tool to express feelings,” recalls Marchand, laughing and talking with a gently poised demeanour like we’re in the back row at school. “While growing up, you become acquainted with the fact you have a body and you feel differently about it. That was the first thing that struck me strongly: that I had a body I could use, and within myself, I was triggered that this was going to be a tool of freedom.” 

_{Photograph: Alessandro Lo Faro}

Hailing from Nantes – a small town nestled in Western France – and now based in Paris, Marchand glimmers with an electric energy. Approximately a few minutes in, I’m already besotted with my interviewee. “I began dancing when I was nine years old, and previously I took circus and gymnastics classes,” he offers, as we begin to settle into our conversation. After four years at the Conservatoire de Nantes, Marchand joined the Paris Opera Ballet at 13, living in a boarding school which he deemed “challenging.”

“I feel very grateful, because the Paris Opera school is free as it’s a government-owned institution, and I would have never been able to join if it wasn’t publicly-funded,” he freely admits. “I did four years there, and I was lucky enough to be hired in the company when I was 17.” Marchand confesses the hierarchy and complexity present within the company’s ranks, detailing how one has to go through all of these to become a Principal dancer.

_{Photograph: Alessandro Lo Faro}

“You have an exam every year, a contest you have to pass which is quite complex because the Paris Opera has 154 dancers, not one more,” he says. “If you want to achieve the rank above you, you need to wait for a place or that someone retires in order to be promoted.”

Following a performance by La Sylphide, in which he took on the role of James on the stage of the Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo (Japan) on March 3rd 2017, he was named danseur étoile. “I wasn’t scheduled to attend the trip, but I did because one of the dancers got injured two weeks before going,” he opines. “La Sylphide is a very romantic ballet, and after the first performance, I got nominated.” 

As a dancer with a wealth of artistic feats under his belt, I couldn’t help but wonder how the past year was. “Very challenging and packed!” he grins, with cheer. His season began in September when he danced William Forsythe’s at the Paris Opera. Moreover, Marchand has starred in a ballet titled The Blake Works (choreographed over James Blake’s music) and Mayerling: a historical ballet by Kenneth McMillan that is daunting because the main character, Prince Rudolph, goes through a sad plot.

_{Photograph: Alessandro Lo Faro}

“He was a crazy man who got a disease, and he had to take morphine to deal with the pain,” he explains. “Moreover, the character has very complicated yet violent relationships with women: he ends by committing suicide with the last lover Mayerling, who is a city in Vienna, in Austria. This is a very famous story across Central Europe, but not very known in France and Italy. It’s a really incredible ballet that I loved dancing.” Marchand has recently rehearsed alongside Mats Ek, a modern choreographer that he’ll be working with in April 2025. 

Marchand is an artist of great poise and sheer gratitude: a feeling I sensed when he touched on the importance of mentorship. “I would say that Manuel Legris has been really the strongest example for the Paris Opera and myself,” he admits, “because we’ve been seeing him dance for so many years. All the Nureyev versions are mostly danced by Legris, and it’s great to be in Milan because I’d never worked with him.”

_{Photograph: Alessandro Lo Faro}

Marchand admires dancers Rudolf Nureyev and Nicolas Le Riche, to whom he’s very drawn from a technical and emotive perspective. “[Le Riche] was always very human in the way he embodied characters on stage,” he opines. “Never too much, but always with strong inspiration and taking risks.” 

Risks, then, with a wealth of determination for the taking were the elements that helped him navigate through the ranks amid a pool of talented artists. “I just followed my path and tried my best time after time, but I wouldn’t consider my career extraordinary,” he says, nodding his head without signs of peacocking braggadocio on display.

“When I was in the ranks in the company, I felt the urge to go out of them because it was a race about who would make it first,” Marchand reflects. “Once you’re a Principal, your role lasts for 15 years; so if there’s an available spot you need to take it and be ready for it. At first it was hard because I’m very tall, and my body is a bit different compared to the standards people see at the Paris Opera. I’m quite muscular, and I would be too visible in the corps de ballet. I was worried about that, but I actually discovered that it was a strength because I could dance with many different artists.”

_{Photograph: Alessandro Lo Faro}

On career challenges, he speaks with unguarded honesty. “Injuries spark many doubts within you, and when you have so much pressure and feel the stress sometimes you wonder whether you’re going to make it, if you’re talented enough, if you have what’s required to be an interesting artist so you can have big moments of doubt. It happens very regularly.”

It’s not all doom and gloom though; artistically speaking, Marchand’s talent is tinged with a positive air, with his impassioned identity providing weight and the slightly-potent confidence pulling all his qualities into sync.

Moving on to lighter territory, Marchand will debut in Milan’s Teatro alla Scala premiere of Nureyev’s Nutcracker, alongside the company’s Principal dancer Alice Mariani on December 18th. “The Nutcracker is a big deal for me because it’s the first role I danced as a soloist at the Paris Opera,” recalls Marchand. Back then, he was a coryphée (leading dancer in a corps de ballet) and he jumped into the role to dance with first soloist Melanie Hurel. “I remember that being a very stressful experience, and that before the last pas de deux I wanted to die,” he offers, chuckling between sips of water.

“After dancing my first show I felt so much anxiety that I kept thinking that I made a mistake, that I’m not made to be a dancer and all that,” he says, pausing momentarily. “After the second performance, though, I remember that during the pas de deux the music felt so beautiful to my ears that something let go and I began to take pleasure in the chasses, where I found a sense of freedom.” 

_{Photograph: Alessandro Lo Faro}

It’s exactly the reason why Marchand has a strong affection for this version of The Nutcracker. “It’s not about sugar-sweet vibes or little princesses: the ballet is much more complex than that, and the performances are much deeper and more meaningful. What I love about this version is that there’s a very psychoanalytic way of seeing things, because Clara is changing through the whole ballet; she’s a young girl discovering all her femininity and sexuality, while becoming a woman.”

Rudolf Nureyev always twisted the plot somewhere, and that’s a point of this Nutcracker Marchand feels it’s interesting because it shows how complicated the relationships in families can be. “It’s interesting to see that Drosselmeyer was a prince who is not just a charming person, but someone who will take Clara on a trip to help her discover herself. I love this version even though it’s very challenging technically, and musically with tricky patterns, but I’m really happy to dance with Alice as it’s the first time we dance together.” 

The duo met in January, the last time Marchand paid a visit to Milan to take a class and see the company. “After two days, Legris asked if I wanted to come and dance in a show next season,” he says. “That’s how the Nutcracker came about, and I’ve been waiting for this moment for a few months now.” 

Marchand feels “lots of pressure and very honoured as well to be invited to La Scala, because of how prestigious the institution is.” 

_{Photograph: Alessandro Lo Faro}

An institution that never lacks in ambition, which will see him partnering with the brilliant Alice Mariani, Principal Dancer at Milan’s Scala who completed a mesmerising performance of Balanchine/Robbins’ triptych a few weeks back. “I was five years of age when I started dancing, and as a very bubbly kind I was always running around to free-up my energy,” Mariani reminisces. “I started ballet and I’ve loved it since day one, so it felt like an awakening to me: there were mornings when I woke up, waiting for that hour to come.” 

Mariani’s ballet teacher advised her parents to take her to La Scala’s academy, a place where she didn’t know what to expect. “I didn’t even know what being a professional ballet dancer meant, and the beginning was quite hard because coming from a private ballet school and getting into the academy is no mean feat: the discipline, the rules like you had to be always silent and bow when the teacher was making her way in were quite shocking,” she says. 

However, her then-mentor Tatiana Nikonova saw something in her. “I joined the school at 13 to then graduate in 2011, and then moved to Dresden for 10 years; but then, I felt the desire to come back home and to join La Scala.” 

_{Photograph: Alessandro Lo Faro}

The first time Mariani saw The Nutcracker, she was shocked. “When they told me I had to do it, even more!” She exclaimed, “because I think it’s one of the most challenging ballet there is in the classical repertoire. For myself, I find that there are many ballets that are very hard, technically. But in a way, in this one you have to be very clean because there are some steps like the assemblè – which isn’t very hard – where if you don’t cross your legs enough it looks terrible.” 

The first time Mariani met Marchand in January, she had a winsome feeling about the artist. “I actually said it to people when he came, and I didn’t even know he was rehearsing for The Nutcracker and he probably didn’t even know,” she says. “I think we’re missing a dancer like him at La Scala, so I think it is an amazing opportunity for Milan, for our theatre, for us dancers to work with someone like him. And also, he’s such a hard worker too, fully committed to his role.” 

Turns out that Marchand’s least favourite roles fall into place when there’s a lack of honesty. “What is very hard for me to interpret is when the story is not true, if I don’t believe in the story myself, or if I don’t find my character real enough,” he admits.

_{Photograph: Alessandro Lo Faro}

“There are some roles in which I feel dumb in,” he says. On the flip side, though, he’s fond of the impassioned characters within Manon, La Dame aux Camélias, Onegin or Mayerling. “All these roles are very strong and allow you to share many different emotions,” he opines, “while showing all the skills of how theatrical we can be, because we’re like actors.”

Today, Marchand is aware of how the passing of years has changed his creative persona. “Well, I’ve been seeing myself changing a lot and it’s very reassuring, because changes are reassuring to me. It shows that we are moving on and we’re always improving,” he says. “Because if you don’t change and you find yourself doing the same things always the same way, what’s the point? You just repeat yourself all over again.”

_{Photograph: Alessandro Lo Faro}

On days off in Paris, Marchand enjoys a glass of wine with friends, connecting with nature, meditating and filling his life with other things than ballet. “Otherwise, we’re always staying the same!” He says, “so we need to have other experiences in life: love, pain, joy, disappointment, freedom—things that need to be explored, so that we can live them through the characters we bring on stage.” 

What will he do at 42, when étoiles are contractually obliged to retire? “Drag!” he wildly cackles, past our allotted interview time. “I’m joking, but I’d love to try once,” he concludes. “On a serious note, I’d love to still be on stage as an actor or as someone telling stories. I feel like storytelling is what I love the most about my job right now.” Retirement isn’t imminent though. Until then? “I hope to keep expressing freedom and love through my art.” And just like Marchand, I very much hope the same.

by Chidozie Obasi

Photographer: Alessandro Lo Faro (@alessandrolofaro.archive)

Stylist: Chidozie Obasi (@chido.obasi)

Hair: Gaetano Pane (@__mr.bread__) via (@julianwatsonagency)

Make up: Sofia Foiera (@sofiafoiera) via (@blendmanagement)

Set Designer: Irene Coveri (@pennyennyemmy)

Head of Production: Jessica Lovato (@jessicalovato_)

Fashion Coordinator: Davide BeloO (@coccobeloooo)

Photography assistant: Pietro Dipace (@_jamas_)

Styling sssistants: Isabella Petrocchi (@isabellapetrocchi) + Lilly Padilla (@lillympadilla)

+ Veronica Vaghi (@vaghiveronica) + Clara Bacetti @clabacetti + Linda Ripa (@lindaripaa)

_{Clothing Credits:}

_{Look 1: GIORGIO ARMANI}

Look 2: PRADA

_{Look 3: Top PHILOSOPHY DI LORENZO SERAFINI | Shorts GIVENCHY | Earrings ALICE’s OWN}

_{Look 4: Blazer BOSS | Trousers PAUL SMITH}

_{Look 5: Jacket GIVENCHY | Trousers JIL SANDER}

_{Look 6: Hugo Top PAUL SMITH | Trousers GUCCI | Alice Dress TOD’S | Skirt DOLCE & GABBANA}

_{Look 7: Top, skirt MARNI}

_{Look 8: Coat ACT N.1 | Tank DOLCE & GABBANA | Trousers HERMES}

_{Look 9: Jumper HERMES | Shirt MOSCHINO | Pins LOUIS VUITTON}

_{Look 10: DIOR MEN}

The post Inside Hugo Marchand’s pursuit of expression first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

MILAN, ITALY – After Balanchine/Robbins’ great success at Milan’s La Scala and all the principals involved in the three 20th-century masterpieces, the Ballet Season has drawn to a close.

But the city’s buzz continues apace, ready to immerse in the Christmas atmosphere and in the lights, but also in the shadows of Rudolf Nureyev’s Nutcracker. Set to open the new Ballet Season 2024-2025 and return to the stage from 18 December to 12 January 2025, anticipated on 17 December by the customary Preview for young people, has already sold out like all the replicas.

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©} 

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©} 

A welcome return of one of the most interesting and technically demanding ballets in the classical repertoire, but also an important occasion to welcome the La Scala debut of Hugo Marchand, étoile of the Paris Opéra, and many of the protagonists who have illuminated the 2022/2023 performances in the role of Clara and the Prince/Drosselmeyer as Nicoletta Manni, Martina Arduino, Alice Mariani, Agnese Di Clemente, Timofej Andrijashenko, Claudio Coviello, Nicola del Freo, Navrin Turnbull and the debut in January in the title roles of Camilla Cerulli and Marco Agostino. 

Hugo Marchand will open the performances with Alice Mariani (17, 18 and 20 December 2024); Agnese Di Clemente and Claudio Coviello will be on stage on 29 December 2024 and 4 January 2025; Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko will dance on 31 December 2024 and then the evenings of 3 and 5 January 2025.

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©} 

The afternoon of 5 January and then the evenings of 9 January will be the performances of Camilla Cerulli and Navrin Turnbull and on 7 and 11 January Marco Agostino and Martina Arduino. Virna Toppi and Nicola Del Freo will be given the final performances on 10 and 12 January.

Alongside them will be the Corps de Ballet, which will shine in the Christmas dances and above all in the marvellous choreographic designs of the famous waltzes, the soloists of the numerous dances, the students of the Ballet School and the Academy’s Children’s Choir, and, on the podium, conducting the La Scala Orchestra Valery Ovsyanikov. 

by Chidozie Obasi

The post Rudolf Nureyev’s Nutcracker gears up to spark winter joy at La Scala first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

MILAN, ITALY—Never lacking in ambition, Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala has arguably set itself a big challenge with its production of Verdi’s sprawling tragedy La Forza del Destino, opening again 59 years after its previous staging. 

The opera was written during the middle of the composer’s career, and founded on a Spanish work by the Duke of Rivas. In the recent production that premieres for La Scala’s new season – a yearly tradition that falls into place on 7 December, in conjunction with St. Ambroeus’ celebrations – the opera brings in various elements with the centrifugal force that leans not only on one but two axes (namely, war and hope). 

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©} 

Yet it’s a mark of the strength of Leo Muscato’s direction, with a starkly atmospheric setting that sets the plot in a concentric wheel, holding up the thrill of the conclusive glimpse of redemption. The opera ostensibly exemplifies the power of fate, in a way that two lovers – Leonora (interpreted by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko) and Álvaro (played by Brian Jadge) – are pursued over the years by Leonora’s brother, Don Carlo, who is obsessed by his desire to avenge his father’s accidental death.

In addition to wanting to stain his family’s honour caused by his sister attempting to elope with a Peruvian man. Around them, war is taking place, cheered on by those profiteering from the havoc. 

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©} 

“This is an extremely complex opera,” explained Director Leo Muscato, “an opera that already from the script the libretto maintains a layered complexity. The acts are divided in different days, and each day is distant from one another, sometimes even years apart. The matter of this play is well-rounded, and we’ve tried to make it even more complex but with the sole objective of trying to tell this story that could also be exciting for the viewers who come to see it because of its background, which is the conflict. Right from the first scene, the war is only mentioned in our version, but it’s the key fil rouge, let’s say.” 

Verdi’s piece highly resonates with the global turbulence that is currently shaping the world’s conflicts. “In the opera, Verdi has also poured elements of hope in it, especially in the very last moments of the finale,” offered Muscato, explaining how “Leonora gives Alvaro the chance to forgive himself, and when he does, there is a change of melody and a change of harmony in which he finally says to Leonora how much he’s redeemed. In short, we hope to be able to give this emotion to the spectator because it is a very dramatic work, it is an epic tale, a historical one as well, which fortunately alternates dramatic scenes and also funny scenes in some cases, but in the finale fortunately has an element of hope that we push to emphasise.” 

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©} 

From American tenor Brian Jagde – who was brought in on short notice to replace German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, who dropped out due to personal reasons – to Ludovic Tezier and Anna Netrebko, leads were firing on all cylinders. “Success is the happiness of sharing this music with the audience and then, if it works, I’m happy because we shared a mutual experience together, brightly emphasizing the works of great composers.”

An emphasis that Dominique Meyer felt grounded in the very work of all trailblazing soloists. “To be able to tackle these roles, you cannot be a young man of 25,” concluded Meyer.  “So when we are lucky enough to have a generation of these artists, we can only thank God and the nature of things.” 

by Chidozie Obasi

The post Milan’s La Scala premieres Verdi’s sprawling opera La Forza del Destino first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

La Scala’s concertos are, for the most part, genre-bending performances that are apt to tie musicologists in knots. Most of them date from early years and were composed for gifted virtuosi rather than professional amateurs. Their impact can vary, but the meticulous way they’re conducted is as prominent as ever.

Alexandre Kantorow’s concerto is one example: the French pianist, who performed on La Scala’s stage earlier in November, released a beautifully shaped performance including Brahms’s Piano Sonatas alongside works by Bartók and Liszt, and proved himself as a classical interpreter of sharp insight and distinctiveness.

_{Riccardo Chailly. Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

In the sonatas, it’s the dark, gothic, almost supernatural side to the pieces that come through notably strongly. Several times, Kantorow sends his left hand far down the keyboard, either echoing or working against a melody heard at a much higher pitch, and in his playing these bass-line mutterings come across as something unsettling, even incomplete.

_{Brescia e Amisano | Teatro alla Scala. Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

In the loudest passages, he makes the instrument ring, drawing the maximum resonance out of all those vibrating quavers yet somehow still maintaining clarity and definition in each pause. In the softest passages, his playing has a beguiling, sometimes dreamlike sweetness. His skill is a whole world in itself, and Kantorow’s interpretations reckon fully with their scope; his pacing of the shorter movements rounds the work off in a completely convincing way.

His penchant for spreading out chords from bottom to top might be a bit much for some listeners, especially when teamed with how he creates a rhythmic tug back and forth between the playing of his right and left hands, making a small discrepancy in where the beat falls, but it’s all in the service of some beautifully fluid and beguilingly expressive playing.

_{Brescia e Amisano | Teatro alla Scala. Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

Simone Young’s baton is a marvel: not only does she demonstrate the wonderful poise and triumphant elegance of Brahms in her conduction, but she projects a captivating synergy typical of the composer’s regality and tonal ubiquity. A regality transposed in her conduction of Ein Heldenleben, leaning on Strauss’ diaphanously light coloratura juxtaposed with the orchestra’s depth.

These elements make a sweet coupling, though these works are, in fact, portraits of Strauss’s know-how and expertise. Heldenleben mockingly pits thoughts of domesticity against the twists and turns of stardom, nicely directed here by Young’s precision and irreverence, which comes across as a striking Straussian in some capacity.

_{Brescia e Amisano | Teatro alla Scala. Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

The multiple ironies of Heldenleben are superbly caught, though the emotional rigour of her interpretation lies in an equally rigorous account of the touchingly beautiful treatment of the finale. The orchestral sound is lean and sinewy; it’s not for those who like their Strauss uber-opulent score. That this is deliberate, however, is born out by the warmer orchestral colours that Young adopts for her regal yet imposing performance of this season’s Heldenleben. 

Reimagining Verdi’s great tragedy of guilt, obsession and the reckless nature of fate in terms of 20th-century military conflict and its aftermath, Leo Muscato’s 2024 staging of La Forza del Destino returns to La Scala for its first revival, conducted by Riccardo Chailly. The show opens the Teatro alla Scala’s 2024/2025 Season on Saturday 7 December.

_{Still. Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

The opera will be sung by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko (Donna Leonora; the part will be sung on 28 December and 2 January by Elena Stikhina), Brian Jagde (Don Alvaro), Ludovic Tézier (Don Carlo di Vargas),  The direction is by Leo Muscato, with sets by Federica Parolini, costumes by Silvia Aymonino and lighting by Alessandro Verazzi.  The opening evening is dedicated to Renata Tebaldi on the twentieth anniversary of her death.

The artist was a splendid performer of the part of Leonora at La Scala in 1955 under the baton of Antonino Votto.  The opera will be performed in the 1869 version reworked by Verdi for La Scala, according to the critical edition edited for Ricordi by Philip Gossett and William Holmes in 2005. Every year, the performance will be filmed by Rai Cultura cameras and broadcast live on television on Rai1 and radio on Radio3. The Premiere will be preceded on Wednesday 4 December by the Preview for the Under 30s and followed by seven performances on 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 28th December 2024 and 2 January 2025. 

The opera marked the conjunction between Giuseppe Verdi and La Scala after the rift that had occurred with Bartolomeo Merelli at the premiere of Giovanna d’Arco in 1845. Verdi would no longer write a new opera for the Milanese theatre until Otello in 1887, but he did make substantial changes to the score of La Forza presented in St. Petersburg in 1862.

In the 19th century, the opera would only be revived in 1871 and 1877, with Franco Faccio conducting. It was Arturo Toscanini who revived the title in the new century with a performance in 1908, and then in 1928 with a new production designed by Giovacchino Forzano. The sets, by Edoardo Marchioro, were also the backdrop for productions directed by Giuseppe Del Campo (1929, 1930), Gabriele Santini (1934), Gino Marinuzzi (1940), Victor de Sabata and Nino Sanzogno (1943).

_{Still. Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

After the war, the first conductor to bring La Forza del Destino back to La Scala was Victor de Sabata in 1949, again alternating with Nino Sanzogno. Particular affection for this title was shown by Antonino Votto, who directed it in 1955 with Renata Tebaldi as Leonora and Giuseppe Di Stefano as Don Alvaro, and again in 1957 and 1961. In 1965 Gianandrea Gavazzeni chose La Forza to open the season, the direction was by Margherita Wallmann and the sets again by Nicola Benois.

The cast of 7 December sees Ilva Ligabue, Carlo Bergonzi, Piero Cappuccilli (replaced from the second act by Carlo Meliciani), Nicolai Ghiaurov and Giulietta Simionato for the last time Preziosilla at La Scala after four productions. Luciana Savignano, who has recently joined the La Scala Ballet Company, is also among the solo dancers.

After opening the 1965/66 season, La Forza del Destino returned to La Scala in 1978, conducted by Giuseppe Patanè and directed by Lamberto Puggelli. The sets of this legendary production were designed by Renato Guttuso, who had already collaborated in the creation of three other performances at La Scala.

The cast was historic, with Montserrat Caballé, José Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli and Nicolai Ghiaurov. It took 21 years for the title to be revived, and it was Riccardo Muti who revived it under the direction of Hugo de Ana, who also designed the sets and costumes.

The protagonists include Georgina Lukács, José Cura, Leo Nucci and Luciana D’Intino, but also Alfonso Antoniozzi as Melitone. This same production would be taken on tour to Japan the following year, again with Muti on the podium: these would be the last performances of the 1869 La Scala version with the theatre’s ensembles.

La Forza also returned to La Scala in 2001, when the Mariinsky ensembles conducted by Valery Gergiev performed the 1862 St. Petersburg version as part of the Grandi Teatri per Verdi festival.

by Chidozie Obasi

The post From Strauss to Verdi, Milan’s La Scala teeters between wrathful darkness and riveting sweetness  first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

_{From Summer Issue 58}

THE conversation that changed Mamoudou Athie’s life happened with a stranger in a hospital waiting room. It sounds like the start of an unwanted interaction – the kind where you politely nod your head and pray it’s over quickly. But this stranger started talking to Athie about her favourite play, Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s 1956 tragicomic, The Visit.

It just so happened that Athie was studying it at Yale’s drama school. He was in love with the play too, and it was all he could think about. Athie wishes he could remember the woman’s name because she helped him realise why acting makes him tick, “The way she talked about the play was so moving. I could see the effect it had on people.” From then on, the actor knew his life’s goal was “to work on things that really challenge people. Things that make them think… there’s nothing better.” 

If your goal is to challenge audiences, then collaborating with Yorgos Lanthimos is a sure-fire way to do it. It’s a golden Spring afternoon in Los Angeles when the 35-year-old and I meet over Zoom to chat about his role in Lanthimos’ new anthology, Kinds of Kindness. The Mauritanian American actor’s disposition matches the rays that shine through his kitchen window. He’s got a warm, relaxing voice and plenty of hand gestures that ramp up as soon as we get talking about Lanthimos’ newest project.  

The film has three sections, with Athie, Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley and Hong Chau appearing as new characters in each vignette. Athie’s role is “more of a cameo” in the first and third parts. In the second, he plays a cop whose partner, Plemons, descends into paranoia, convinced that his wife is an imposter. 

_{Photographer: Ssam Kim}

When we chat, Athie is about to fly to Cannes for the film’s premiere. We brainstorm tactics to get through the flight so he doesn’t roll into the south of France, looking like something from the Night of the Living Dead. Athie laughs through a broad smile as we riff on ways to realign his body clock to French time and circumvent the dehydrating, life-draining force that is plane aircon. Whatever way you cut it, no matter how many biohacking techniques you try, the flight will suck. Of course, he knows it’s a tiny price to pay: “I’m so excited at the end of the day.” 

It’s not the actor’s first time at Cannes. Last year, he represented Disney Pixar’s animation, Elemental (Athie voiced Wade Ripple, a “go-with-the-flow guy”, and it’s easy to see the similarities between the two). When I bring up Elemental, Athie puts his hand on his heart and closes his eyes. The project still resonates deeply. Elemental’s director, Peter Sohn, drew inspiration from his parents’ immigration story, which struck a chord with Athie. He was born in Mauritania where he spent the first six months of his life before his family was granted political asylum in America. 

The family settled in Washington, DC, where Athie spent much of his childhood trying to keep up with a big sister who loved acting. “I was just imitating her initially … but when I did plays in school, I kept on thinking, ‘this is what I want to do’.” Soon, childhood dreams turned into reality, and Athie began his career in theatre, debuting on Broadway in The Mystery of Love and Sex. Since then, you may have seen him in Brie Larson’s Unicorn Store, Netflix’s horror series Archive 81 or FXX’s absurd comedy Oh Jerome, No. 

But before commercial success, there was drama school. In fact, if there was an award for going to the highest number of acting schools, the 35-year-old might just win it – he’s attended three. “Attended” is used deliberately here because Athie didn’t graduate from the first one. You won’t be able to find its name anywhere. Athie is taking that one to the grave.

He chuckles, saying, “I don’t want to get sued.” Let’s just leave it at this – the acting course left much to be desired, but Athie also realises he wasn’t ready at 17. “My maturity level wasn’t there yet, at least enough to handle being in New York for the first time.” He had fun, he met people, but he didn’t take it seriously. 

_{Photographer: Ssam Kim}

It wasn’t until Athie attended William Esper Studio that he “legitimately fell in love with acting”.  Founded by Bill Esper, the school is dedicated to Sanford Meisner’s eponymous acting technique whose creed could be summed up as impulse over intellect. Get out of your head and into your gut. In one exercise, students repeat an observation back to one another – You have big teeth. I have big teeth? Yes, you have big teeth. Alright, I have big teeth. As the exercise crescendos, students add their own point of view reflecting on the scene – You look a little bothered. I am a little bothered. Just a little bit? A little bit. Just a little bit. 

Repeated phrases become like chants, encouraging actors to stop thinking and start feeling into the present. That’s where the magic of spontaneity lies. With all that chanting, I’m not surprised when Athie tells me, “I just became kind of like a monk. I’m either all in or completely out, and I was all in. I was like a maniac. All I did was go to plays and readings.” He credits Suzanne Esper with initiating his newfound devotion.

“She just gave acting such a wonderful, workman-like quality because it was all about the real essence of it.” Esper has been teaching at the studio since 1979, taking the reins after her husband’s passing in 2019. Athie’s face blazes with gratitude when he speaks about his teacher. “She’s been my mentor since I was 19. I love her like a dear friend.”

There’s a real sense of flow and openness to Athie that sits alongside a more clinical, logical side. It’s clear that the technical bent of William Esper Studio left its mark – acting is a craft, and like all crafts, it needs to be worked at, not winged. After graduating at 19, Athie went to Shakespeare In The Park and realised there was a gap in his skillset, “I knew I was missing things. I remember sitting there and reading all these actor’s bios and I thought, ‘I just don’t know how to do Shakespeare at that level’.” His textbook desire to grow led to acting programme number three at Yale’s Drama School. 

_{Photographer: Ssam Kim}

The rhythm of Athie’s early adulthood was a flurry of new cities, new courses and new challenges. Layer upon layer, he built up a repertoire that reveals his reverence for acting as an art. When he speaks about his craft, there’s a delicacy; a distinct feeling that it’s something to be handled with care. The result? Athie has amassed an impressive list of credits, but he’s never lost touch with the wisdom that there’s always more to learn. 

That ethos served him well on the set of Kinds of Kindness. Lanthimos’ work stretched the actor; it helped him “grow up a lot”. Athie got his induction into the Greek director’s weird and whacky world when he went to see The Lobster with friends at Yale. “We were all like ‘woah, who made this?’ You know a movie is good when you’re asking that question. After that, I kept tabs on everything [Lanthimos] did. I devoured everything he came out with, so when I got the chance to work with him, it felt like a dream.” 

It was a surreal moment when Lanthimos emailed Athie, commending his performance in Jason Reitman’s 2018 film The Front Runner. The director was drawn to Athie’s restrained, powerful presence as a young reporter with a strong conscience. Of course, Athie is exactly the kind of actor Lanthimos wants with him in the sandbox – his unnerving subtlety is a perfect match for a director with a penchant for brilliantly blank performances. When Lanthimos attached the script for Kinds of Kindness (then titled And), Athie read it through, but signing was already a given. 

_{Photographer: Ssam Kim}

I’m interested, what was Athie’s initial reaction to the script? “Woah, Yorgos, man, you don’t play.” It seems like a pretty accurate look into the mind of anyone who has been sucked into one of Lanthimos’ universes – get ready for a twisted ride down the rabbit hole. At the time of writing, Kinds of Kindness has premiered at Cannes, prompting one critic, Bilge Ebiri, to comment “sicko Yorgos is back”. Athie was right – Yorgos doesn’t play. 

When we chat, the actor isn’t allowed to divulge the plot’s mischievous and macabre details, but I take his word for it. Throughout our call, he breaks out in fits of laughter, covering his head in his hands, beaming with the grin of someone who is remembering scenes of a film that is yet to premiere. It’s the ultimate teaser. Athie knows what’s in store for us. “It’s a trip,” he manages to let out between chuckles. 

With the plot under wraps, the actor focuses on the joys of working with Lanthimos. “The thing that I love about the guy is he has a lot of integrity. He’s uncompromising … I deeply respect that. I would love to only work with people like that because you made something you meant to. Whatever happens, happens, but you can feel comfortable with the effort.” 

_{Photographer: Ssam Kim}

There’s a clear reverence for the Greek’s fearlessness. It’s a quality Athie channelled into his own performance, which involved a nude scene. It wasn’t unfamiliar territory for the actor (Athie had been nude onstage during his performance in The Mystery of Love & Sex), but experience doesn’t guarantee ease. The scene was “well outside” Athie’s comfort zone. 

“I was scared initially, but I spoke with Yorgos, and I knew I was in good hands. Signing onto something where you feel like you’re giving so much of yourself is scary. If you feel like you’re compromising yourself, there’s always a bill that’s due, and it’s hard to recoup from that, so you want to be sure. Fortunately, I made the right choice. These guys couldn’t have been more respectful.” 

The reward on the other side of fear is always growth. This project took Athie for a ride into Lanthimos’ absurdist wonderland, where you have to leave your doubts at the door. He fell into a filmic realm where dark comic timing and stilted coldness reign, but life on set was full of warmth. Rehearsals included prancing around, with Jesse Plemons imitating Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks sketch.

Athie spent a day on set “cracking up” with Willem Dafoe (one of the funniest people he’s ever met). Amid all that growth, all of that stretching himself into new territories, there was fun. Perhaps the two go hand in hand – pushing yourself creatively requires there to be lightness and play that makes you feel safe to go to new depths and darker spaces. There must be love, respect and trust. For Athie, the set of Kinds of Kindness abounded in them all. 

by Christiana Alexakis

Photographer: Ssam Kim

Stylist: Lisa Bae

Art director: Evan Woods

Grooming: Grace Phillips

Producer: Windy Lee

Styling assistant: Bella Bice

Talent: Mamoudou Athie

Location: Downtown L.A. Proper

_{Look 1: All clothing ZEGNA}

_{Look 2: All clothing DIOR MEN} 

_{Look 3: All clothing GIVENCHY}

_{Look 4: All clothing TOD’S}

_{Look 5: All clothing ISABEL MARANT}

The post Glass talks to Mamoudou Athie about his role in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

British-French actor Fabien Frankel speaks to Glass Man about embarking on the hugely popular House of the Dragon franchise as a knight in shining armour

WITHIN the space of one afternoon in 2020, Fabien Frankel learnt, shot and sent a quick self-tape for an HBO project then-titled Red Gun. Five months later he was told he got one of the leads in the highly-anticipated Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon.

“It was mental to be honest,” recalls the 30-year-old actor, still in disbelief at the turn of events that led to him getting the part in a single audition. “I didn’t even think about it. It felt so not in the realm of the types of roles that I would get.”

But the role of Ser Criston Cole was his. Unequivocally too. “It was the craziest day ever. I almost fainted. I remember I got told, and I sort of crouched over a table being, like, ‘Are you guys joking?’ I kept feeling like I hadn’t done enough work. I was so surprised because it’s not that I had a body of work behind me for people to see, so it was a huge risk.”

_{Photographer: Kosmas Pavlos}

Like its predecessor, House of the Dragon embarked with a cast of names that were both familiar and completely unknown. On one end of the call sheet, there was Paddy Considine, Matt Smith and Olivia Cooke, and on the other was Emma D’Arcy, Milly Alcock and Frankel. Just like the original, the latter half echoed the same fate as Sophie Turner, Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington, fast-forwarding a plethora of scattershot roles and arriving into a franchise with a devout audience ready to be enthralled again.

But as Frankel sits opposite me, sipping on a Diet Coke, there’s not even an inkling of cockiness that comes with his tanned, traditionally handsome looks. He is acutely aware of the importance of the role that has defined his career so far – but to get to the point of being sat on set for a cover shoot didn’t come without years of indefatigable work.

Born in London to English actor Mark Frankel and French marketing executive Caroline Besson, the destiny of his career may have been foreshadowed from day one. Unfortunately, Frankel’s father died when he was just two years old in a traffic accident, leaving his cinephile mother to single-handedly raise him and his younger brother Max.

_{Photographer: Kosmas Pavlos}

An eclectic array of British classics, American blockbusters, French sitcoms, DVD rentals and trips to the local cinema were weekly occurrences during his and his brother’s childhood. Counting The Mask of Zorro and French actor Louis de Funès’ comedic flair as their “bread and butter when we were kids”, it’s thanks to his mother that he got a well-versed insight into cinema. “I think probably, to some extent, she did it to honour my dad,” he says reflectively. “I guess subconsciously, it was something I’d always thought about doing because of my dad.”

But back then, film and TV were an interest rather than a hobby. “I could never get a good part in a school play,” he recalls. “I was always like the photographer or the servant in the background.” When Frankel turned 18, he pushed aside these small-scale productions and pivoted his trajectory to learning how to move from backstage to front of stage through education. Aware of his lack of experience, he began by applying for a foundation course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before completing a BA in professional acting at LAMDA. 

“Some actors are really just born with it and just come out and knew how to do it quickly. That’s just not me at all,” he answers when I question him about going down the traditional route. “I was not good. And I’m not saying that in a sort of self-deprecating manner. I just didn’t get it. I even look back at my first self-tapes before I’d even been to drama school at 17, and it’s just mortifying to watch. It truly is amazing that I’ve even got a career at this point.” 

_{Photographer: Kosmas Pavlos}

Four years later, Frankel did the work and graduated with a leading man charisma that would act as a toolbox to lay the foundations for the young actor. It began with theatre when he starred in The Knowledge at Charing Cross Theatre in 2017 before playing a supporting role in the hit movie Last Christmas.

In the BBC’s 2021 drama The Serpent, he revealed a discernment in choosing roles that would slowly unravel his masterclass of techniques on screen. But, despite the slow success, these markers on his career were eclipsed by the sheer weight of becoming a part of House of the Dragon.

Set 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones and based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood from his A Song of Ice and Fire series, House of the Dragon is centred around the internal conflicts of the Targaryen family and its succession line, ultimately leading to a war known as the Dance of the Dragons.

Premiering in August 2022, the debut episode was welcomed with an HBO record-breaking viewing figure of 10 million and an order for a season renewal within five days. What came next was a Golden Globe for Best Television Series and a plethora of cast nominations for Outstanding Performance that gave the ensemble the coveted nod of approval from critics and its audience.

“Obviously I felt pressure as a fan of the original,” replies Frankel when I ask whether there were any misgivings prior to the show’s release. “But it just felt like a completely different show, and the scripts felt so different. The world is so much more contained in our show, like all the groups of characters are living under the same roof – almost like a family kitchen sink drama as opposed to Game of Thrones, which starts with all these worlds that you’re trying to establish.”

_{Photographer: Kosmas Pavlos}

In the first season, Frankel’s character Criston Cole begins his narrative as the personal guard and lover of Rhaenyra Targaryen before serving as a member of the Kingsguard. It’s here that audiences fell for his dark features, praising him as a true knight in shining armour. Like all good storylines, character flaws flourish following heartbreak, and Cole turns his back on the future Queen – a decision that splits viewers.

But before any lines were spoken, Frankel had to convincingly transform himself into a knight. “They had me work with a walking coach because I naturally move my shoulders in a weird way,” he laughs, trying to exaggerate a shoulder drop. “I mean, not in a weird way, but I’m just not very knightly. They had me working with a military advisor, a guy who’s a sergeant in the army, who literally put on the armour and walked in it to get a walk down.” What was that like?  “Initially, it doesn’t feel so heavy. It’s heavy after 10 hours.”

House of the Dragon was estimated to have a production cost of $20 million per episode for the first season. The various moving parts of each scene would mean it would take days, if not weeks, to film short segments, with four directors taking charge of the 10 episodes. “Our longest days were with this director Claire Kilner, who’s just a barrel of fun and just loves being there,” reminisces Frankel over the grandeur of filming this juggernaut.

When viewers last saw Frankel, he had placed a crown on Prince Aegon’s head, announcing him as the true heir to the Iron Throne. It was here the show finished. Building up to the second season, well-crafted mini trailers have been released under Green and Black perspectives, vividly outlining the fragmented backdrop of the narrative to follow.

_{Photographer: Kosmas Pavlos}

“The second season feels very different from season one,” hints the actor about his own development in the war-torn family. “It was nice to read the season and go ‘wow, that’s the direction that he’s going in’. It was so far away from how he started and so far away from how he finished the first season. Obviously, the show is set over 25 years, and I’ve got to play him from supposedly 20 to about 46. I’m just not 46 – I need to lose my skincare routine.”

As Frankel dances around the subject, I politely nudge for a better insight into the tightly-clad script. “I’ll get shot if I say anything,” he grins. “But I will say that I’d like to think that by the end of the season, you’ll feel differently to how you feel at the beginning of the season. But, the first few episodes … We’ll see. Fuck knows what people will say.”

While Season One may have tested Frankel’s stature in his costume, this season, he was horseback. “I think I’d been on a horse twice before I started filming,” he explains, cracking up. “Then I’m on it with armour.” Working closely alongside new cast member, British actor Freddie Fox, the pair’s first meeting in rehearsals was less than conventional. “Me and Freddie did a riding lesson together where he and I were on the same horse, linked up and holding each other,” he says, grinning. “We didn’t even know each other. It was like the most romantic first date of all time.”

Still a month away from its release, I ask him what it was like to watch the episodes once the soundtrack and mammoth injection of special effects were put in place. “In a weird way, it’s near impossible to imagine what they do,” he says. “I think what you see on the day feels very contained, and then all of a sudden, there’s a thousand more people in it than who you shot with and a thousand more horses, fire and dragons. There are days where you just can’t wait to see what it turns out like.”

Despite the mass transformation in post-production, Frankel still winces at the sight of himself. “My biggest surprise was how incredibly unpleasant I found watching myself on screen. Most of the time I spent watching it was with one eye closed.” 

_{Photographer: Kosmas Pavlos}

Steering himself into a liminal space of not being pigeonholed, Frankel is currently in production for a new, unnamed HBO crime series in Philadelphia. Working closely alongside the state’s task force and training with them for three months, he admits that, although he’s not deliberately doing different genres, the experience has been transformative.

“The hope is that you keep getting to do roles that feel like you’re telling a new story and from a different perspective,” he explains. “You just want to work with great filmmakers, whatever form that takes.” Counting his current co-star Alison Oliver as “generational”, he admires her ability to adapt and change. “To work with someone who’s so consistently reinventing themselves and doing so with so little ego, because she has none, I would say she’s someone I really look up to.”

Though playing Criston Cole may be Frankel’s current constant, he effortlessly counteracted the fantasy world of dragons with roles that push him further into reality. Beginning to produce and direct with his brother, his modest demeanour deflects praise, but it only proves my estimate that Frankel’s duality lies further than King’s Landing.

by Imogen Clark

^{House of the Dragon Season 2 is available to stream on Sky Atlantic and NOW from 17 June 2024} 

Photographer: Kosmas Pavlos

Stylist: Luke Day

Grooming: Nadia Altinbas using DIOR Backstage Foundation and DIOR Homme Dermo System

Styling assistant: Zac Sunman

Talent: Fabien Frankel

_{All jewellery: Cartier}

_{Look 1: Suit, shirt DOLCE & GABBANA, Shoes MANOLO BLAHNIK}

_{Look 2: Top, trousers McQUEEN, Shoes CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN}

_{Look 3: Jacket, top CARLO MANZI, Trousers GUESS from SEROTONIN VINTAGE, Glasses MOSCOT}

_{Look 4: Top CARLO MANZI}

_{Look 5: Jacket, Top Carlo Manzi, Jeans VINTAGE GUCCI, Belt BOOT STAR}

_{Look 6: Shirt: VINTAGE ZEGNA, Tie VINTAGE BOSS, Trousers EDWARD SEXTON, Shoes CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN}

The post Fabien Frankel talks to Glass about his transformation for House of the Dragon first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

The t-shirt, emblazoned with hand-drawn scribbles, is a direct homage to the graffiti and artwork that covered every toilet stall of Berlin’s underground clubs. The two bags, stencilled and hand-sprayed, take their cues from the graphic intensity of raves inspired by the film collection curated by MUBI and the ubiquitous rave flyers that plastered the city.

_{Gerrit Jacob x MUBI}

Meanwhile, Jacob’s take on denim, seen in both a jacket and jeans, evokes a high-octane remix, embodying the raw yet aspirational ethos of the era, where fashion and self-expression were inseparable from the city’s evolving identity.

The accompanying campaign, shot by Berlin-based photographer Marina Mónaco, grounds the collection with the essence of a generation reclaiming spaces, both real and imagined. Art-directed by Bianca Batson, the campaign uses a documentary lens to capture the rawness, urgency and irreverence of a city in flux.

_{Gerrit Jacob x MUBI}

As the campaign’s central character drifts through Berlin, the city itself becomes part of the collection, its textures echoing throughout each frame. Themes of love, heartbreak, freedom, rebellion – the stuff of life, shot in the streets that lived it appear in both black-and-white and colour.

_{Gerrit Jacob x MUBI}

The campaign’s key visual, an airbrushed dragon emblazoned on skin adorned with ”Reclaiming spaces”, echoes the cultural energy of the MUBI film series that inspired the collection.

by Chidozie Obasi

The post Gerrit Jacob and MUBI showcase an ode to 90s Berlin with capsule first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

The International Award, presented under the High Patronage of the President, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has seen for the 2023/2024 season the participation of fourteen companies from Argentina, Denmark, Venezuela, Slovenia, France, Hong Kong China, South Korea, Greece, Finland, India, Japan, Portugal, Switzerland and Brazil.

_{Neythe at No’hma}

Teresa Pomodoro’s International Prize has always been an exciting journey of art and beauty, traditions and visions; an evocative itinerary around the world that is renewed every year with prose, music and dance performances in the original language.

During the evening, the winning performances of the prizes are awarded by the International Jury of Experts chaired by Livia Pomodoro. Outstanding cultural personalities will be presenting: Tadashi Suzuki, Stathis Livathinos, Lev Abramovič Dodin, Lluís Pasqual, Lim Soon Heng, Fadhel Jaïbi, Gábor Tompa, Muriel Mayette-Holtz, Oskaras Koršunovas – and the Jury of Spectators will be present too, who thanks to the to Culture can vote for their favourite show among those in the competition.

Since 2024, actor and director Toni Servillo has also been a member of the jury, replacing the great Enzo Moscato, who passed away last January. Among the Awards, the ‘Special Prize for the Preservation of World Heritage’ also returns.

An event that has become a tradition for Milan and for the world theatre scene and one of the most loved by the public, which has proved to follow with ever-increasing involvement and interest the festival has become a reference point with a network of connections and artistic exchanges between more than 60 countries and over 130 companies, reaching over 85,000 spectators in attendance and via streaming.

_{Neythe at No’hma}

For the 2023/2024 edition, which was articulated within the ‘In Viaggio’ season, the No’hma Theatre’s reconnaissance brought emerging talents, successful figures, and leading artistic personalities to the stage of Via Orcagna.

During the event on Thursday – introduced by Livia Pomodoro, flanked by the actor Alessandro Colombo – the most significant moments of the 2023/2024 edition will be retraced with live performances by some of the protagonists of the event, as well as videos and speeches by representatives of the competing countries, testimonials and surprises. 

“This award reminds everyone that Teatro No’hma is a space constantly on the move, and represents the cosmopolitan and universal nature that distinguishes the city of Milan,” explains Livia Pomodoro.

The International Prize for Teresa Pomodoro’s Nude Theatre carries forward with respect and conviction Teresa Pomodoro’s idea of a theatre open to contamination between different artistic disciplines, to under-represented themes and to the most distant theatrical realities, to which it thus offers a unique opportunity to make a name for itself on the world stage. 

An idea shared and pursued with Pomodoro’s great vision and artistic sensitivity. “With the presence of the International Prize in the programme schedule, theatre becomes the official language universally spoken to narrate today’s world. The stage is transformed into the place of encounter and dialogue par excellence, where the invitation to reflect, to discover, to know is constantly renewed,” she concludes.

by Chidozie Obasi

The post Milan’s No’hma stage welcomes the 15th International Prize Awards dedicated to ‘The Naked Theatre’ first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

DAS RHEINGOLD, the first performance of the new Ring des Nibelungen, will be staged at Milan’s La Scala for six dates continuing in 2025 with Die Walküre (from the 5th to 23rd of February) and Siegfried (from the 6th to the 21st of June) and in 2026 with Götterdämmerung and two complete cycles.

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

Simone Young is one of the most authoritative batons of this repertoire: she conducted her first Tetralogy at the Vienna State Opera in 1999, leading her to continued success in Berlin, Hamburg and this summer in Bayreuth. “Wagner had a clear idea of sound, which is sustained and transparent, rich yet so intense and the current cast interprets it ever so brilliantly,” she opines at the opera’s press briefing. 

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

The direction is by David McVicar, who after his triumphant debut at La Scala with Berlioz’s Les Troyens (2014), is back with new productions of Verdi’s Masnadieri in 2019 and Cavalli’s Callisto in 2021. This Ring, McVicar reflects in the interview in the issue of the Theatre Review, is an arc stretched to its conclusion. “It’s an opera that changes meanings according to the situations and circumstances, and we can only pull out the aspects one at a time, leaning on the power of myth,” he says.

“It’s a story that resembles a web of complexity and contradiction, a comedy that kicks in deeply”. Wagner changes profoundly throughout the opera: at first a revolutionary anarchist and socialist, then a disillusioned man who has accepted the failure of his youthful ideals. 

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

Fundamentally, however, the Ring is a unified opera. It is a great representation of the world and humanity. The opera is also a great experience of love in all its forms, from the primal sexual impulse to the highest form of love, which is selfless compassion for other human beings and nature.

La Scala, during the 19th century, received Wagner’s operas with diffidence and repulse (the first one, which was badly received, was Lohengrin in 1973, two years after Bologna). In the 20th century, it became a musical and scenic reference point for this repertoire thanks to Arturo Toscanini’s Wagnerian fervour. 

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

If there is a watershed work in modern music, it is Richard Wagner’s Tetralogy (case in point: The Ring of the Nibelung), of which The Rhine Gold is, as we all know, the first of the four panels. Driven by a veritable anxiety of re-foundation, the composer conceived these musical dramas as a totally new structure, free of the ties and constraints of patronage and performance context.

Wagner took to the extreme consequences a process of dramatisation and broadening of the boundaries of tonality already taking place, especially in post-Beethovenian German music. Through the mists of mythical distance, references to historical modernity also clearly transpire.

by Chidozie Obasi

The post How Wagner’s Das Rheingold projects old mythology and wistful drama to the modern day first appeared on The Glass Magazine.

From 8th to 20th November 2024, the show will pay homage to two trailblazers who have been a cornerstone in the world of dance: George Balanchine, with Theme and Variations and Jerome Robbins, with Dances at a Gathering that presents a beautiful ballet of great delicacy. The Concert, sparkling and witty in equal measure, will also be a fun piece for the audience.

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

“For me it’s important to keep this kind of repertoire alight, and to take it further,” opines Manuel Legris, Director of La Scala’s Corps de Ballet. “I love giving as much information as possible to the dancers, as I also danced this back in the day, and all three ballets seem old but have so many refreshing aspects to them, likewise newness.” Legris reflects on how the ballet, despite being written decades back, is ever so modern. 

“If well rehearsed, it’s a great facet for the present day.” On its complexity, he speaks frankly. “The dancers are changing, and 2024 is not like 60 years ago; for sure the mentality and the work is different, but one needs to find the right approach to give them the sense of interpretation and sheer meaning.” 

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

Three classics of the 20th century, iconic titles for an evening that celebrates two undisputed masters and their utter modernity. George Balanchine with Theme and Variations, which returns to the stage in a brand new guise, signed by Luisa Spinatelli. Focused development of ballet’s vernacular, this masterpiece of Balanchine’s purest style was born from the intent – as the author wrote, to evoke the grandiose period of classical ballet, which flourished in Russia with the help of Tchaikovsky’s music. 

This will instead be the first time at La Scala for two of Jerome Robbins’ best-known ballets, both based on piano pieces by Chopin: Dances at Gathering, a feast of pure dance, inspired by the musical fabric and its nuances, and The Concert, a unique, ironic and brilliant cross-section of human reverie and extravagance, of a series of characters attending a piano recital.

_{Photograph: Brescia e Amisano ©}

The Balanchine-Robbins Triptych also marks the La Scala Ballet debut of Fayçal Karoui on the podium to conduct the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra. His extensive experience in ballet is reflected in his collaboration with the Hong Kong Ballet, and regularly at the Dutch National Ballet Amsterdam and the Vienna State Opera. Also making his debut was Leonardo Pierdomenico, who played the piano for Chopin in Jerome Robbins’ ballets not only in the pit but also on stage.

Showcasing a renewed look at three titles that are as much a part of history as their authors, this will stand as a reference point for the world of dance and the ballet world. 

by Chidozie Obasi

The post Balanchine-Robbins’ ballet gears up to spark delicacy and vibrancy on La Scala’s stage  first appeared on The Glass Magazine.