Dudi & Danny: La Scala's Odd Couple

When, over the last few days, we began to experience sightings of both Daniel Harding and Gustavo Dudamel around the mean streets of downtown Milan we figured out that it had to be either a case of Yves Saint Laurent sample sale-induced hallucinations (the Opera Chic version of "teh vapors"), or they really had to be here at the same time.

A quick double check to our Blackjack's monstah database of thangs-to-do confirmed that indeed the two little rascals of classical music, the scarily talented young men who have turned major record companies and big opera houses and orchestras into their personal blowup dolls, are bound to appear almost simultaneously at la Scala: Harding debuts on Sunday 18 with a tasty, superkewl Dallapiccola/Bartok double bill, quite possibly the most interesting programs we have witnessed in our 2+ years in Milan (two gems, and indeed good luck selling out the house with that to the army of casual Scala-goers  who are mainly happy to flaunt their Rolexes, their mistresses, their cabana boys, and then proceed to fart their way through another performance of Traviata or Aida).

Dudamel instead will strut his stuff with Filarmonica della Scala Lenny's Chichester Psalms and Mahler's Titan -- funnily enough, one work OC finds deeply moving and the other she instead considers titanically b0ring.

Anyway, what really made us LOL is the idea that maybe, in an era of cutbacks, la Scala has given Harding and Dudamel a two-bedroom apartment to share and they're now roommates for two weeks -- Dudi blasting Kanye on his Macbook, while Danny tries to watch Manchester United on SKY while going over his scores: what we like to think of as the Oscar and Felix of classical music. Sitcom gold.

Comments

[coccodrillo]

Is Dudamel's hair for real?

[Tanya]

I can just imagine them fighting for the top bunk!

[val]

If you look hard enough you'll see Gatti buzzing around also!!!!

[jpcd]

Hey, witty analogy!!