OPERA CHIC EXCLUSIVE! PLEASE CREDIT OPERA CHIC!
No dancing Berlusconis, no horny priests, and less pacifism for La Scala's forthcoming Candide. Opera Chic has just heard that a few hours ago, Teatro alla Scala General Manager Stéphane Lissner had a very tense phone conversation with Candide Director Robert Carsen, and Lissner's hard-line Draconian rule seems to have WON THIS ROUND.
Rumor has it that Carsen has privately agreed to make some editorial changes and cuts to the controversial parts of the opera that Lissner has deemed "unbecoming" of Teatro alla Scala's artistic direction, in exchange that Lissner will void and retract last night’s decision to drop the opera from the 2006-07 season. (Opera Chic had reported early last evening here and here when Lissner had axed Carsen's Candide from the current La Scala season.)
Opera Chic can only assume that Carsen sucked-up his artistic vision and caved to the demands of Lissner because he did not want to:
a) permanently ruin his very lucrative (the budget for his July 2006 Candide at La Scala exceeds 1.5 million dollars) relationship with the theater for possible future productions.
b) renounce the obvious media exposure that Candide at La Scala will bring him.
Anyway, despite obvious political pressures, Carsen's Candide will be reinstated (albeit, a slightly compromised, G-Rated version) in the Teatro alla Scala program rotation for the 2006-07 season.
vvvvUPDATEvvvv
Carsen's un-edited, French version of Bernstein's Candide, will air in January 2007 on ARTE Channel, which is part of the European satellite package (I get it via SKY here in Milan). The air-date is very soon: it is scheduled for Saturday, January 20 at 10:10 pm. OMG I'm so rescheduling my Saturday night plans! Party at my house!
Also of note is American blogger "Of the Kosmos", who is living in Paris, gave a brief review (in progress) of Carsen's direction of Bernstein's Candide, after attending the show at Théâtre du Châtelet earlier this month.