Corriere della Sera's chief critic went to Scala's new Rheingold, the big opener of what will hopefully be Scala's first complete Ring since 1963, and he hated everything but the voices (the story is not online until tomorrow).
He hated the "senseless" strike that cancelled the original premiere, he hated Daniel Barenboim's conducting ("...tired authority... sluggish... unbearably slow tempi devoid of internal tension") but he especially hated the direction by Guy Cassiers: "...absolutely scandalous in its incomptence and ignorance... irresponsible choices".
Thankfully, Corriere della Sera at least enjoyed immensely the "stunning" performances by the singers: he found Rene Pape's Wotan "mellow-voiced and fearsome", the "perfect examples" of Loge and Mime (Stephan Rügamer and Wolgang Ablinger), the "enchanting" Fricka and Freia (Doris Soffel and Anna Samuil).