Last month in the garrulous kingdom of Naples, Neapolitan bel canto superstar Carmen Giannattasio chatted with OC on behalf of Opera Now magazine (in perfect, British-inflected English), between grueling La Traviata replications that had unfolded since Teatro San Carlo's big-bang December 5 season opener a week earlier.
Onstage, Giannattasio projected a towering, slash & burn Violetta who smashed protons like that car-destroying bonus stage in Street Fighter II. Offstage, still under the shadow of a diva, she's adorably petite.
She's currently at Milan's Teatro alla Scala as Alice in the Robert Carsen production of Verdi's Falstaff, taking over all replications from her split-role counterpart Barbara Frittoli, who withdrew from illness. Giannattasio jives with Ambrogio Maestri and Bryn Terfel who split the Shakespearean title role. After the January 15 premiere, Corriere della Sera's notoriously cranky critic Isotta gave Giannattasio glowing reviews, calling her "la deliziosa", which earns her the OC moniker "Gianna-tasty-o".
You can read the cover feature, penned by OC, in this month's Opera Now. The Neapolitan diva shares a heartbreaking story of an almost-career-destroying eating disorder, pens an inspiring message to young singers, divulges her most coveted (future) roles and recounts days and nights with London glitterati where she currently resides. In the same issue, you can also read OC's official Lohengrin review of the Teatro alla Scala season opener from December 7, 2012.