Alagna Chief Counsel Speaks to Opera Chic
Opera Chic has obtained a personal interview with Alagna Chief Counsel Avvocato Marco Rocchini, Mayor of Milan suburb Arcore; and he has spelled-out the legal team’s new aggressive media strategy. Here is our interview.
Opera Chic: Has Maestro Alagna gone to Rome to meet Maestro Zeffirelli as he announced last night in front of Teatro alla Scala?
Avvocato Rocchini: Yes, he left Milan this morning but he will be back very soon. Because on Sunday he has been booked for a long, in-depth interview on a nationally syndicated afternoon television talk-show. He will then be able to explain his reasons. In the meantime, our team is putting the last touches on our legal motion against La Scala, and general manager Stéphane Lissner that will be filed soon.
Opera Chic: Possibly even next week?
Avvocato Rocchini: The lawsuit that Maestro Alagna has decided upon is a complicated one. It has not been filed yet, because we are still gathering more information, and there is also the matter of the medical note and the reimbursement for Maestro Alagna’s expenses incurred since last month and the immense damage to his professional reputation.
Opera Chic: Can you tell us more about Maestro Alagna’s movement over the weekend?
Avvocato Rocchini: He may be off to Paris tomorrow (Saturday), but he will certainly return to Milan for his Sunday afternoon TV commitment that has already been booked.
Opera Chic: What will Maestro Alagna be talking about in his TV appearance?
Avvocato Rocchini (smiling): You just watch…
Opera Chic also hears (Avvocato Rocchini would not confirm that on the record) that Maestro Alagna will sing at least one aria from his Aida part.
vvvv UPDATE UPDATE vvvv
Very curious, a report that surfaced....
La Scala already seems to be backpedaling, as per this new article.
[Alagna said,] “I was fine when I started, but this problem with my metabolism, if I am very emotional or stressed, my system consumes sugars very quickly,” Alagna said by telephone from the airport in Milan on Friday. “After that happened to me, the sugars went down dramatically. I couldn’t stay on my feet, I had to sit. I didn’t have the strength.”
"A spokesman for the opera house said Alagna never mentioned feeling unwell after leaving the stage and hasn’t turned over any medical certificate to La Scala management."
“'If a singer is sick, he goes off stage, tells the musical director and a doctor verifies the condition, we inform the audience and the understudy goes on stage,' said (Scala spokesman -- ed) Carlo Maria Cella."
"But Alagna mentioned no illness to general manager Stephane Lissner or to the musical director, who approached the tenor and urged him to resume the performance, Cella said. Alagna’s personal physician was present, and no one requested a consultation with the opera house’s doctor, he added."
"La Scala doesn’t plan to sue Alagna for any damage to the 'Aida' production, Cella said, but noted it was uncertain whether plans to release a DVD of the production would have to be shelved because of his absence."
“'What happened, happened. No one wants to criminalize Roberto Alagna,'” Cella said."