Riccardo Muti gave a big interview today to Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, where among other things he remains silent (and strangely diplomatic) about his opinion of the Pierre Audi direction, the Herzog & de Meuron sets, and the costumes by Miuccia Prada’s of his Verdi’s Attila that just debuted at The Metropolitan Opera. All translations below are copyright of Opera Chic (no pilferage k tnx bi)!
Muti repeats to La Repubblica that same exact thing which he told Corriere della Sera last month, stating that he will not be back at The Metropolitan Opera for another opera. He also praises the “extraordinarily vital” cultural life of Chicago. Muti also praises the Metropolitan Opera for, “giving me complete freedom” with his ideas with Verdi’s Attila.
He continued about the Metropolitan production: “Don’t ask me for an opinion on this or that choice which was taken by the director. Let’s just keep in mind that the Metropolitan’s audience in the past knew how to accept great innovations. For a long time, this was a very conservative audience. Today it has to confront constant provocations. And sometimes there’s just too much provocation. And the music suffers. I don’t think we need new geniuses to explain La Traviata to us. But there’s a new generation of directors who are very interesting, and who can respond to the expectations of an audience whose aesthetics have been reshaped by the cinema and by the theater. When it comes to Attila, I recognize that its story is timeless and makes you feel like giving a modern reading. Attila is the archetype of the foreign invader who threatens a weakened civilization. It’s like a disease that feeds upon itself throughout the centuries.”
Muti also praises The Metropolitan Opera’s management: “Let me restate that since I don’t have to come back here, so my praise is sincere, without flattery. It’s impossible not to be impressed by the Met’s ability to program future seasons. They have a full calendar of productions already complete up to 2014. This method allows you to book in advance the best conductors, the best singers, and the best artists.”
Muti then also praises the American model of private donations to the arts.
And just to further translate the interview from Muti’s Italian into English: He doesn’t comment on the staging because he didn't like it. He doesn’t comment on the costumes basically for the same reason. He praises the American model of private sponsorship of the arts because he wants to send a message loud and clear to Opera di Roma (where he’s supposed to take the reins), explaining to the Roman political powers who have wanted to hire him that he does not want to take that job and find them interfering with his decisions, or penny-pinching on the theater’s comeback to greatness that he's planning.
Muti also announced his inaugural season with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra today, where he'll be welcomed in in a special Symphony Ball that's being called, "Benvenuto Maestro Muti!" (yeah, seriously.)