MEDICI TV

	© Javier del Real				In the Romantic Paris of the 1830s, Rodolfo (Aquiles Machado) and Mimí (Inva Mula) live modestly but are truly in love with each other. When Mimí is stricken by tuberculosis, Rodolfo leaves his fiancée so she can choose a wealthier man, able to save her. But love is not rational, and Mimí decides she should not betray her own feelings. She dies with no money, in Rodolfo's house. More than a vain love story,Puccini's opera tells the story of the ultimate sacrifice, in the name of love. Deeply rooted in the collective imagination, the story of the Sleeping Beauty, who can only be awakened by a kiss, gave Tchaikovsky a rich material for his ballet score. Even though it is now performed by almost every company in the world, the work, choreographed by Marius Petipa, is emblematic in the Royal Ballet of London's repertoire: it is with this masterpiece that it got started on the stage of Covent Garden in 1946, in the beautiful sets created by Dame Ninette de Valois. In the ballet world, Tchaikovsky's music is everywhere. From Swan Lake to The Nutcrackerand Sleeping Beauty, the Russian composer's scores have been an impressive source of inspiration for the choreographers. And indeed, at least three of the most popular ballets were written after Tchaikovsky's works. Thanks to this exceptional archive material, meet the prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn and her partnerMichael Somes, dancing in the roles which made their glory.
	> The young Venezuelian conductor Gustavo Dudamel wins a Grammy Award for his performance of the Brahms Second Symphony, recorded with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, > Joyce DiDonato is rewarded with a Grammy Award in the "Best Classical Vocal Solo" category for the album Diva Divo recorded with the Lyon Opera Orchestra and Kazushi Ono, > The Italian tenor Giangiacomo Guelfi, a pupil of the great Tito Ruffo, dies at the age of 87, > Beginning of the performances of Le Nozze di Figaro in Covent Garden, with Anna Bonitatibusas Cherubino, > At the New York Metropolitan Opera, anotherPuccini masterpiece is on stage: Madame Butterfly(music director: Plácido Domingo).