More hilarity from Scala's unions: they keep protesting the cost cutting measures that were just passed by the House and will be soon reviewed by the Senate, and they decided to sink tomorrow night's performance of Faust, directed by mad genius Eimuntas Nekrosius and conducted by Stephane Deneve. Opera Chic at this point feels lucky that she witnessed the premiere, despite the mutiny -- even if the chorus was on stage in street clothes and refused to follow Nekrosius's directions and just stood there, singing, and the orchestra was dressed in street clothes, too. Because the second performance was canceled, the third was canceled, too, the fourth is not going to happen either tomorrow night, and the future is just a big fat unionized question mark. So at least we saw half-a$$ed Nekrosius, that it's better than no Nekrosius at all.
In the video below, la Scala workers and orchestra protest in front of Milan's city hall, right across the street from la Scala.
Fight the powah!
The drama! The drama! I love the Italians.
Posted by: Kevin Edmund Youkilis 4MVP | June 25, 2010 at 05:07 PM
Well at least all I lost was the hotel - that will teach me to book a non-refundable hotel when going to La Scala won't it? I just wish I could see the point of it all. And as I much as I love the drama of opera I really am getting a bit tired of living it 24/7. As I say on my blog the next person who says how romantic it must be to live here gets such a bitch slap!
Posted by: WILLYM | June 25, 2010 at 05:27 PM
The Italian opera houses will soon implode. Can't it just be about the music like Verdi would have wanted it? It's too bad politics are so heavily involved in the opera houses.
Posted by: Rogier | June 25, 2010 at 05:31 PM
LISSNER GO HOME
Posted by: Basta! | June 25, 2010 at 05:38 PM
Why do you think we are seeing the Italians more and more here in the States? The Italian agencies aren't stupid.
Posted by: olivia | June 25, 2010 at 06:08 PM
Any word on the other opera houses,or summer festivals.... Verona for example?
Posted by: Jean | June 25, 2010 at 06:10 PM
Sorry Basta I don't see where its Lissner??? He hasn't mandated the cut backs and he isn't the Union Leadership who are just flexing their muscle to show that they can call useless strikes when they want to. We may not like the way he runs the house but at least - unlike opening night - they have the decency to cancel outright and give a bit of notice to people. The people I feel most for are those for whom this was a once-in-a-live-time opportunity to go to La Scala. I recall last year sharing a box with a couple who had traveled from Montreal and La Scala was the highlight of their trip. I can't imagine how they would have felt if the performance had been canceled.
Posted by: WILLYM | June 25, 2010 at 06:25 PM
They're just striking so they can watch the Azzurri in the knockout round.
Oops...
Posted by: Charles | June 25, 2010 at 07:12 PM
I hope all those people are not getting some kind of pay for those cancelled and half-performed performances!
Posted by: Bill Philin-Ploplis | June 25, 2010 at 11:27 PM
Tell me again why LaScala is such a big deal?? They're writing their own dramas, is that it?
Posted by: alocksley | June 26, 2010 at 02:14 AM
It seems they have asuicide pact with their union people...
Posted by: vale | June 26, 2010 at 07:30 AM