Woody Allen Film "To Rome With Love" Features Fabio Armiliato

The tenor with Woody Allen and Judy Davis
(Photo: Philippe Antonello/Photomovie)

"In the latest stop on Woody Allen’s cinematic tour of Europe, the Eternal City clichés are laid on as thick as a Quattro Stagione pizza topping. Lovers romance amidst atmospherically-lit ruins; Vespas buzz past al fresco trattoria tables; the cutting-edge soundtrack opens with Volare, and a humble traffic policeman has an apartment overlooking the Spanish Steps (presumably he won the lottery, but likes his job too much to quit). There are times when it makes Roman Holiday look like a neo-realist classic. In the end, though it has a certain charm, To Rome With Love is little more than a travel brochure with jokes. That said, the multi-stranded To Rome With Love is a likeable enough capriccio, with much of the pleasure coming from watching an all-star cast enjoying themselves like kids at the back of the bus. But it’s not Midnight in Paris, lacking the high-concept premise and the plausible relationship dramas that gave that equally soft-focus paean to the French capital a certain dramatic heft, and helped to turn it into Woody’s biggest ever box-office result. If that was Four Weddings And A Funeral, this is Love, Actually: a chocolate assortment where everyone is sure to find a flavour they like, and if they don’t they can always admire the packaging. Allen’s latest premiered in Italy a good two months before its debut in the US (where Sony Pictures Classics will give it a limited release on 22 June, a week after the film does the opening honours at the Los Angeles Film Festival). This has a lot to do with the muscle of majority backer Medusa Film, but is hardly calculated to give the film a good send-off, given the Italian critics’ predictably lukewarm reception to a film that was widely

O Sole Mio??

dismissed for peddling outdated Dolce Vita stereotypes....First up is the tale of Hayley (Pill, who played Zelda Fitzgerald of Midnight In Paris), a lone American turista in Rome who finds herself a fiancé when she asks Michelangelo (Parenti) a handsome, politically committed young Italian architect, the way to the Trevi Fountain. Allen and Judy Davis play the bride-to-be’s New Yorker parents, while opera tenor Fabio Armiliato puts in a sparkling performance, at the centre of one of the film’s more inspired comic scenarios, as the future bridegroom’s father – an undertaker with a talent for singing in the shower." [Source] Trailer is after the jump.

San Francisco Opera Gala Opening Night Event One Week Away

Iréne Theorin will portray
Puccini's icy princess.

"It’s not too late to part-take in of the most prominent events in the San Francisco musical and social scene. On September 9th, join Encore!, the San Francisco Opera’s club for opera aficionados, as they host the opening night gala at City Hall. As the second largest opera company in North America, the San Francisco Opera has been host to opera’s jewels like conductor Sir Georg Solti, director Francis Ford Coppola and lirico-spinto soprano Renata Tebali. The 2011/12 season will feature John Adams’ Nixon in China, a long sought after program. This magical evening will begin with cocktails at 5PM, followed by an elegant seated dinner at 6PM in City Hall and then attendees will head to the War Memorial Opera house and enjoy a performance of Puccini’s Turandot. The festivities continue back at City Hall at around 11PM after the performance with dessert and dancing into the wee hours of the night. One must first join Encore! and then purchase tickets for the gala which at this point start at $425 for Dress Circle Rear placement. A table for 10 Patron tickets is $6,000 (call (415) 621-4403 for orders and use this form) and if you can only make the performance, tickets are still available starting at $129." [Source]

Check out an image from the Hockney production and watch a clip of Iréne Theorin singing the "Riddle Scene" from Turandot at Covent Garden after the jump.