Candide OUT!
(image taken from IHT article linked in post below)
OKAY GUYS< WE HAVE AN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!
TEATRO: LA SCALA CHIUDE LE PORTE AL 'CANDIDE' (Teatro alla Scala closes the doors on Candide)
Milano, 28 dic. (Adnkronos) - Il Candide non andra' in scena al Teatro alla Scala di Milano. Nonostante l'opera di Berneist fosse gia' in cartellone nella stagione in corso, il Sovrintendente e Direttore Artistico del Teatro, Ste'phane Lissner ha ritenuto l'allestimento dell'opera (per la regia di Robert Carsen) ''non in linea con la produzione artistica scaligera'' ed ha dunque deciso di rinunciare alla coproduzione.
Translation: "Candide will not come on stage at Milan's Teatro alla Scala. Despite the fact that Bernstein's opera was already in all of the posters/media for the season that is already going-on right now, GM and Artistic Director Mr. Stephane Lissner has stopped all rehearsals and preparations of the opera (under the production of Robert Carsen), saying, 'It is not in line with the artistic production of La Scala,' and has therefore decided to abandon the production."
No doubt this will be making the news in the next few days. Lissner rules with an iron fist, and Lenny's ghost will not feast at La Scala.
vvvvUPDATEvvvv
The buzz here towards why Lissner dropped Candide (aside from cowering away from an already controversial new direction)? Apparently Lissner was in Paris earlier this week and saw the opera at Théâtre du Châtelet. However, rumor has it that Robert Carsen had surreptitously added some provocative and polemic speeches that were not in the original libretto by Bernstein, Hellman, Latouche, and Wilbur. NAUGHTY!
It's an Opera Apocalypse these days...
La Scala's loss... the opera itself is a bit ho-hum but it is supposedly a rather splendid production.
Posted by: Ian | December 29, 2006 at 03:04 PM
Agreed, Ian. The decision is beyond LAME. I was really looking forward to catching this at La Scala this summer. I truly <3 Lenny, and saw Candide (with Alsop conducting, Chenoweth as Cunegonde, and LuPone as the old lady) a few years ago at Lincoln Center, and it was a gem.
Lissner is a pu$$y for not going ahead with the production. He just caved, and gave-up. But then again, I'm not fully aware to the extent of the tinkering that Carsen apparently tweaked with the libretto.
Btw, no one really understood why Carsen chose to use Berlusconi's head instead of Prodi's likeness...and up until Lissner axed it yesterday, the big question was if Carsen would switch masks (to a Prodi-type) when it arrived here for the Milan run. NOW WE WILL NEV4R KNOW!!
Posted by: Opera Chic | December 29, 2006 at 03:44 PM
Mr. Lissner will soon be the world's greatest expert at not producing opera. Perhaps an ideal season for him would be to fire everyone and keep the theater locked and dark for a whole year.
Posted by: La Cieca | December 29, 2006 at 07:44 PM