Opera Chic

La Scala's Aida Gets the Isotta Treatment

This weekend Teatro alla Scala revived Frengo's gilded Aida, you know, the same production that framed the Alagana-Celeste-Aida meltdown and inflamed a million groins with Roberto Bolle's golden thong and Myrna Kamara's rock solid thighs, so it's only natural that there has to be some drama attached.

Corriere della Sera's lionized critic Paolo Isotta flexed his acerbic wit (and gave a shout-out to Flaubert's Salammbô) in his review, praising Ekaterina Semenchuk as Amneris and lauding Hui He in the title role as "a full-bodied, gorgeous voice with an exact vibrato that wasn't too much or too little, elegant portamenti, a proper sense of phrasing (if it hadn't been continuously impeded by Noseda) and perfect Italian diction."

Clearly not impressed with conductor Gianandrea Noseda, Isotta went straight up Salinger-vs.-Chaplin mode: "[...] He rises and falls like a baby on a rocking horse, sending kisses to the stage and the pit, imitating the gestures of Oren and Gergiev. On his arms appear bird wings, tired from a flight devoid of light."

It's a relatively declawed (and poetic) criticism from his usual vinegar, like earlier this year when he vitriolically slammed Harding's Verdi and Wagner, which instigated Lissner's banhammer. If Harding can walk it off, Noseda can, too (espeically since we made this adorable photoshop)!

Canadian Opera Company Puts A Stylish Face Forward

Verdi's goddess Aida gives the Canadian Opera Company reason to channel their inner divas. On occasion of Sondra Radvanovsky's Aida debut for the company's first production of Verdi's grand opera in 25 years, The Globe and Mail's Style section gets all fashion-y, proving that Canadians don't throw tuxedo jackets over Toronto Maple Leaf jerseys for opening nights (obligatory Canada/hockey joke).  

Using the opera house to model Hermès, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, and Valentino, here's a sample of dramatic, black tie dresses that could quite possibly overshadow the drama on stage. Go to the slideshow for a few more looks.

Rupert Sanderson's Sandals, Slaves in the Details

 
London-based shoe designer Rupert Sanderson had apprenticeships in Bologna before starting his own private label, first working with Italian greats like Sergio Rossi and Bruno Magli. And maybe it was in Italy where he had inspiration for theatrics, something like what we witnessed in the gold wedge sandals designed for David McVicar's Verdi Aida, now going onto its last performance at London's Royal Opera House.

Worn by Marianne Cornetti's Amneris, we've been told that the sandals (for whatever reason) were shelved after the first performance and have been replaced by normal footwear.

The sandals shared the spotlight with Micaela Carosi's Aida, Marcelo Alvarez's Radames, and Nicola Luisotti on the podium. (via)

Graham Vick, CBE, Will F*çK Your Empire Up: Aida in Bregenz

Aida, as we all know, is a horrifically difficult opera to stage -- it doesn't work historically, because the chance of a military commander falling in love with a slave is more or less the same of a modern dayUS Senator falling in love with a beer can -- slaves were literally things to be used -- nobody would believe Radames falling in love with a Flintstones-style lawnmower, after all.  The duty vs love angle is awesome but it's really saddled by so much heavy-handed stuff anyway (as in Zeffirelli's 2006 Scala production, splendid in its luxury and deathly in its motionlessness -- OC was there for the 12/7 premiere and for all the Alagna insanity that followed) that one might as well go nuts and shake things uppa.

A maestro of shaking opera things up, Graham Vick, has dreamed up an interesting variation for Aida: at the Bregenzer Festspiele he's imagined a huge Statue of Liberty -- well her big feet and her right hand -- as the backdrop for Aida

After all it's the same festival that's in the business to stage Tosca under a big eye, and so much more.

More, of course, after the jump.

Roburto Teh Vampire Slayer Ghostbuster

«I took it as a sign from God.» «Tonight, I have finally put away the ghosts of Milan that have haunted me,» he said during a midnight interview in his dressing room.

Roberto Alagna sings Radames in NYC (no loggionisti need apply), talks nonsense afterwards; our merciless big sister La Cieca posts a review from reader Gualtier Malde.

Chailly: Alagna Sunk My Manon Lescaut

Riccardo Chailly today took part in a press event to plug the release of his forthcoming Aida DVD, a recording of the unfortunate Scala production of last December.

Chailly explained that his next opera in Milan should have been Manon Lescaut with, um, Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu.

"The Manon project was linked to Alagna and Gheorghiu's casting, so (General Manager Stéphane) Lissner and I chose another work, Il Trittico. An opera that hasn't been staged here at la Scala in the last 25 years", Chailly said.

Because The Horror Never Ends: More Palombi Xplanations on Alagna's Walkout

We really didn't want to come back to that fateful December 10, 2006, and Roberto Alagna's walkout at la Scala. But Antonello Palombi, then-understudy of Roberto Alagna in that most unfortunate production of Aida, has added more wise words  (Palombi has just gotten really, really nice reviews in a Baltimore Tosca).

Under the comical headline "The Tenor of Heroism", imperiled-kitty-saving Palombi gives the 100th version of what happened that night, and cuts all the conspiracy talk that came from the Alagna camp and that made us laugh so hard:

"There is a story that I'm part of a plot. I'm not."

Earlier, in rehearsal, his long, free-form hair had been tied in a taut, Samurai warrior-like ponytail. After letting it loose, Palombi looks more like a bearded version of a vintage, 1980s Meat Loaf. He gesticulates kinetically as he talks in rapid streams of mostly confident English, his dark, friendly eyes providing an active counterpoint of their own.

Palombi had been engaged as Alagna's "cover" (opera-speak for understudy) in a new production of Aida and was also given two performances to sing later in the run. On the fateful day, Dec. 10, Palombi was first told that he needn't bother being at the opera house that night.

"But at 4:40, the telephone rings again - 'You have to come here in one hour,'" he says.

By 6 p.m., Alagna was still nowhere to be seen, so Palombi started warming up his voice in a dressing room, just in case he had to go on.

"The door opens, and it is Roberto," Palombi says. "Thank God. He says to me, 'You want to sing tonight?' 'No, no, Roberto.' "

Alagna, a cocky Franco-Sicilian tenor with a considerable fan base around the world, prepared to perform. Palombi hung around backstage after Aida started, figuring he could go home once things were well under way.

When Alagna finished his big aria, Celeste Aida, he received polite applause. "Then," Palombi says, "one man shouted 'Bravo.' Oh, my God. After this - something I hope never to hear again in my life."

That something was a barrage of boos and whistles (in Italy, whistling is not a sign of favor). Alagna raised a fist at the audience and headed for the wings.

"I swear, I said, 'No, Roberto, don't do this.'" Palombi acts out a hand pushing him on the shoulder. It was "as if to say, 'It's your turn.' It was, how do you say? Brusque."

As Alagna passed him and headed into the dark backstage, Palombi noticed that the music was continuing out in the house. The character of Amneris, no doubt startled to find herself alone at the start of what was supposed to be a duet, started to sing her next lines.

"I heard a voice say 'Go on,'" Palombi says. And he did, without missing a beat.

Those who, I wonder why, feel like reading the whole puff piece can find it here.

Gheorghiu Snarks Netrebko, Does Not Particularly Defend Husband, Roberto Alagna for La Scala Walk-Out.

Romanian diva Angela Gheorghiu finally speaks (well, almost) about her husband Roberto Alagna’s infamous walk-out from the La Scala production of Aida last December. She doesn’t really defend her husband (as we’ll see), allowing her words to be read between the lines of the Corriere interview. She also starts a catfight with the younger Anna Netrebko. Meee-oww-wr! Claws out, kittens! She also disses Maria Callas, a soprano that was actually slightly more talented than she is, but she doesn’t really seem to care; or we think that she hasn’t really listened to Callas’s recordings all that carefully. The rest of the article was full of *words words words* that didn't really resonate (it's 1:30 am the night before OC hits the Dolomiti early tomorrow morning for Easter holiday what could be more important than that??). So I'll leave you with a trifecta of slightly incendiary quotes:

Gheorghiu on husband Roberto Alagna:

“I have spoken with Franco Zeffirelli about the episode when my husband walked-out off the Aida production at La Scala, and everything is fine. Find me a couple where the husband and wife always think alike. I’m not saying that Roberto has made a mistake. My idea I will keep to myself.”

Gheorghiu on Maria Callas:

“Zeffirelli, who will direct me on April 20 at Opera di Roma in La Traviata, is obsessed with Callas’ ghost. But I have never felt her shadow’s presence. I’ve had two singers set examples for me, and they are Eugenia Moldoveanu and Virginia Zeani. When I sing, I don’t think about any other sopranos. I like to be an original. “

Gheorghiu on Anna Netrebko:

"My husband sang with her, but do you know how many tenors would like to be in my arms? Anna I have heard only in Don Giovanni. She still has something to demonstrate. But anyway, I am more of an expert on tenors.”

GURLS GURLS UR **BOTH** PRETTY!

Alagna Says: I'll Be Back!

In today’s Corriere, Alagna shares with the public a few quotable gems during a recent interview regarding his current Manon in Vienna, his three recent cancellations in Italy, and his struggling relationship with Teatro alla Scala. On first read, it comes across as hilarious. On the second read: not so funny.

The article, "Alagna a Star in Vienna; I will Sue La Scala: In Italy, Also Abandoned by Zeffirelli; I Will Block the Aida DVD," begins with some Roman slang:

"In Italy they call him, ‘The Tenor Of The Three Holes.’" [ed: In Roman slang, cancellations & no-shows are regarded as "holes", so he's a tenor "delle tre buche", or "of three holes". All three are alluding to the La Scala Aida, the Opera di Roma La Traviata, and the 57th Sanremo cancellations.]

• Alagna begins: “If a colleague cancels an engagement, nothing happens. If I cancel, it’s like an earthquake.” Alagna continues, “They call me and Angela ‘The Bonnie and Clyde of Opera’: Angela didn’t know what it had meant, so I bought the movie for her. She cried. [ed: omg no way] But the truth is that all of the theaters want me. After Milan, I’m a celebrity.”

• On his cancellation of Sanremo: “They (The Staatsoper) had given me permission to sing in Sanremo, and I wanted the challenge, I was curious.”

Then Alagna addresses his feelings towards La Scala, and regards the management in a dismissive tone as “Those People”. He feels “betrayed” by Zeffirelli, and continues-on about Zeffirelli's false enthusiasm, saying, “He was crazy with joy. He told me that he had never cast a couple that loves each other in real life, and then he gave me an autographed copy of his book with a dedication that I won’t even begin to describe to you.”

• On his flight from the stage at La Scala: “I was abandoned by everybody. After the crowd booed me, I was ready to come back. I would have looked straight at the audience, and I would have asked, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, shall we go on?’ But my replacement was already there on the stage.”

• On the La Scala lawsuit: “La Scala did indeed forbid me to sing via their lawyers. But they unilaterally broke the contract. So I sued.”

• On the forthcoming Decca-produced Aida DVD: “I called Decca. I won’t authorize the sale of a DVD of Aida in which you are only able to see the sets, or where the singers are indistinguishable and far away. I’m a producer, too, and I know how to make a good video. I asked that we add to the video -- as special content -- a scene of the crowd booing me. They cannot publish anything without my consent. The people side with me. Do you know how many records I’ve sold in 2006? 970,000! Find me another singer who did that. I’d do it all over again.”

• On the police threats from December 10, 2006 when he showed-up at La Scala against their wishes: “Somebody at La Scala spread some gossip. They said I had fled to Paris, but all of that was lies. That’s why I showed up in front of the theater, to counter-act those claims. There were carabinieri [teh Italian police] in front of the theater because they were equating me to the bandit Salvatore Giuliano [the most famous bandit in Italy]. And why do you think everybody was against me? Because I was a whipping boy. Who is the real target, you ask? It’s not me, but really General Manager of La Scala Stéphane Lissner”.

The interviewer then asks Alagna, “So, is it over for you and Milan?" Alagna replies, “I don’t exclude anybody. La Scala is mine. It does not belong to ‘Those People' [addressing La Scala management]. It’s like telling a Christian he can’t go to church anymore. God made me a tenor.”

• Alagna regarding the Rome cancellation of La Traviata: “I had to go to Paris for Simon Boccanegra, so I saw the staging of La Travitata. But I didn’t like it, so I cancelled. It was a sort of concerto version. So then I made myself available to Rome for just two nights. And it wasn’t good enough for them. They have the bad habit of announcing the cast even if they don’t have a signed contract with the artists yet. I told them: ‘Guys, I’ll come if I can, with pleasure’. Artistic Director Mauro Trombetta, a delightful person, told me that in Rome, I’d be the new Beniamino Gigli. But I don’t have room in my schedule for now. I have to study four new operas, one of them written by my brothers Davide and Federico. They do everything: they’re sculptors, painters, composers”.

• Alanga, after asked when he’d actually be back in Italy, replied, “I’ll be back to Italy in 2008, in Bologna, for Gluck’s Orfeo. And in Italy they offered me the artistic directorship of a theatre, too. I’m relaxed, trust me”.

wow okay...uh...WHAT??!!!

CHAILLY SLAMS ALAGNA: "SAVED BY SOUND ENGINEERS"!!!111 OMG

In today's Italian newspapers, Corriere della Sera and Repubblica (how sweet to be able to buy them in New York, too, OC is now addicted!) Riccardo Chailly, conductor of last December's unlucky Aida at La Scala, slams tenor Roberto Alagna. Here are the most damaging quotes:

"Yesterday I watched the Aida DVD that RAI will broadcast and Decca will soon sell in music stores...and it was a luminous, beautiful show, with excellent singers. Alagna also performed convincingly, and he gave life to a convincing Radames. But now he will say that he was right; He will say that he was a perfect Radames. Instead he should thank the sound engineers: because they performed a miracle, working on such little material they had in their hands and fixing all the defects in an astounding manner. Watching the DVD, one sees that it was a good idea. We worked well, and what happened seems even more painful now. He should have gone ahead with the show. It was a matter of respect".

So, no matter what Alagna said last month in one of his more unhinged moments ("Decca said they only make the Aida DVD if I am the protagonist in this production"), the DVD is indeed coming out! w00t!

Roberto Alagna Kicking and Screaming

DEAR MYTHBUSTERS,

I HEARD ON TEH INTERNETS THAT "BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS" TOTALLY PITCH TO THE SOUND OF *BOOOOO*

...SO IF U *BOO* SOMEONE, U CAN MAGICALLY MAKE THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE DROP REALLY BAD??? RIGHT?!! LIKE SOME HARRY POTTER SH*T: TRUE OR FALSE?  PLESAE CONFIRM TIA

♥ OC ♥

The Sydney Morning Herald published today an interview with our homeboy Roberto "HAY GUYS LOOK AT ME OVER HERE LOOK" Alagna.

In an article titled "Broken-hearted tenor to sue opera house", Alagna gives his first explaination of why he left the stage during the December 2006 Teatro alla Scala Aida.

He goes on to say that he is officially suing La Scala for, "failing to help a person in danger", and blames the audiences' boos for the dangerous drop in his blood sugar levels.

Couching his insults in passive-aggressive barbs, he states:

"I could accept being booed if I was singing badly, but not being lynched. That demolishes a singer. It's like a death blow. I adore La Scala, but the result of this behaviour is that first-rate singers no longer perform there."

It really needs to be read to be believed...

celeste aida requiescat in pace

(btw, If you are looking for the BREAKING NEWS that Opera Chic reported from early last evening, where La Scala General Manager Lissner cancelled director Robert Carsen's upcoming production of Lenny's Candide, click here and here.)

The moment has arrived for the final judgment of the penultimate Celeste Aida! The one that would make even Maestro Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi pewp his pants!

In addition to the marvelous comments, Opera Chic had a few thought-provoking write-in ballots that will remain anonymous (as was requested), but I will recap the #1 super awesomeness that converged.

From the plucky cj quinn:

1. Bjoerling in the studio, 1936 (mp3 file here)
2. Del Monaco live in Tokyo, 1961 (mp3 file here)

From the lovely Crew "It has to be Jussi Bjoerling...For me!" Mantle:

Jussi Bjoerling 1955; Jon Vickers 1964; Jose Carreras 1980; Placido Domingo 1974; Richard Tucker 1955; Franco Corelli 1976; Carlo Bergonzi 1975; Del Monaco 1951 LIVE Mexico City.

From the brilliant Fignaz:

1. Bergonzi Verona 1966 (youtube link here)
2. Bergonzi Tokyo 1971 (youtube link here)

And then a super-saturated file of Celeste Aida (rapidshare zip file here) containing: Alagna (Copenhagen 2005 & 1998 studio with Abbado); Bjoerling (In Swedish, 1936); Martinelli (Met 1937); Gigli (Covent Garden 1939); Tucker & Toscanini (1949); Georgi Nelepp (In Russian 1953 studio); Del Monaco (Met 1953); Bergonzi (2 performances, Met); Corelli (5 performances, Met)

From the gentle Mimi: a vote for Franco Corelli

From the sweet Paul Velda: a vote for Plácido Domingo

Well, Opera Chic has a dark horse in the running, and has thus chosen the warm and elegant crescendo that emits from Alfredo "Werther" Kraus! His Celeste Aida plucked from the Orfeon Records recording of Alfredo Kraus Sings Operatic Arias I! I LAV EET SO MUCH!

But really, in the humanitarian spirit of the holiday, love thy neighbor/blogger, I declare this contest.......a TIE! EVERYONE WINS! PWN PWN TAKE THAT U NEFARIOUS & INADEQUATE TENORS!

Therefore, in the next half-hour (coda: unless there is more breaking news from La Scala), I will email everyone who participated in the contest with a super h0t, super exclusive, half-nekkid picture of Bolle (preview: LO-OK left). It may even melt your inbox (if you know what i'm sayin).

In the meantime, please enjoy the more tepid images of Bolle above and below, and thanks again to Crew Mantle for suggesting to me this competition. Truly, this was a contest worthy of kings.

Celeste Aida: MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP!!

One of my most favorite "internets colleagues" that I've had the pleasure to acquaint with via the "Alagna Incident", gentilissimo Crew Mantle (hay HAY hay), suggested that to cleanse the Celeste Aida "ear-worm" of late from our collective heads, a bit of a contest is in perfect order.

Therefore, Opera Chic is very curious to hear about your favorite Radames tenor in his best performance singing Celeste Aida.I personally plan on scouring YouTube in the next few days to gather some of the gems. So, if you find yourself with some extra time over this long holiday spell, let's see what you've got in your cache! Either plop the YouTube linkage into the comments of this post, or send me an email and I'll post a thread just after Christmas to recap and declair a WINNER! +20 POWER UP UR LEVELS AND WIN THE GAME!

To wit, LET THE CONTEST BEGIN!

btw, the winner gets a high-res digital portrait of Roberto Bolle, certain to satisfy the pickiest of both boys and girls...

Also, another dear reader took my annoyance of the cranky lawyer that blocked my view from the palco during Friday night's Aida to another level: OMG THE TOURIST GUY WAS AT LA SCALA!?vvvvvvv

 

Let me show you some videos. Let me show them to you.

Walter Fraccaro Sings Celeste Aida

[ed: The original video of Fraccaro singing Celeste Aida was removed by request of Teatro alla Scala. Instead I bring you Excuuuse Me, Princess from TEH LEGEND OF ZELDA omg omg JOKES A' PLENTY]

Remember: WARNING #1: For Celeste Aida, Opera Chic was (comfortably) crammed into a palco box with three complete strangers, and she therefore had to be super-discreet about filming, in order to supersede the rules to bring her lovely readers such rare footage. Unfortunately for this, Fraccaro's first few (okay, lots of) bars of the aria did not survive my stealth-itude. o--o

Roberto Bolle Dances Aida's Marcia Trionfale

[ed: instead of witnessing the thrill of Roberto Bolle's magical thighs, Teatro alla Scala asked the Opera Chic blog to remove the Bolle video. Instead, enjoy WENG WENG! THE TINY PHILLIPPINO 70s AGENT OF THE LAW!!! IT NEVAR GETS OLD!]

Remember: WARNING #2: For Bolle’s Marcia Trionfale, Opera Chic did not unload her 1GB memory card since vacationing in Vienna this Fall, and therefore, her bootleg camera p00ped-out about three-quarters into the dance. Which sucks. A l0t. c*ck c*ck c*ck. But hey, it’s all bootleg anyway, so TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET, SUCKAS! ^________^

Fraccaro RAWKS TEH CASBAH

(Act I of Aida, with the shadow a washed-up lawyer that was sitting clumsily to my left, which will now haunt each successive shot from the opera. *.*)

Opera Chic freely admits that December 7th’s La Prima of Aida was just so exciting and stimulating – the marble lobby of La Scala filled with the exotic perfume of six-century-old European dynasties, the damp leather of Regent Street Church's shoes and moist Valentino black mink stoles mixing in an intoxicating scent of old and new money – that it was almost impossible to distinguish and segregate the subtleties of the actual opera from the illusion of such an evening. For this reason, I am happy that last night, I was able to revisit and revise my initial impressions of the Zeffirelli/Chailly Aida that is currently showing at Teatro alla Scala.

Minus the insane queue to get into the theater, the red carpet, the drizzle, the press, the photographers, the police, the blockade of black Mercedes and surly bodyguards/drivers, the omnipresent maze of iron stanchions, the protestors in Piazza della Scala, and the gawkers, last night’s Aida was still pretty kewl.

This performance was attended by a crowd of fairly equal Milanese echelon, as in, “I’m so rich that I don’t need to know what money is, or even how it works,” along with the entire Missoni clan, including the gaggle of brunette grandkids. Black is really the ultimate rule for these sorts of events, so I went rather incognito in all-black again: black stockings with Louboutin black stilettos, a Jil Sander black cashmere shell dress (I have the same style in like three colors *sticks out tongue*), an Aspesi black 7/8s feather jacket, and I threw all my crap in a black Prada rectangular theatre clutch. This time, I did indeed bring one of my cameras, and I did indeed use it. At La Prima, there was just no way that a camera would even squeeze into my Nancy Gonzalez clutch, better yet knowing that I would not find the plebian nerve to use it in front of so much beefy security and influence.

Into the fray…

(Act II, with the lawyer head again.)

Chailly again, was scruffy and constantly grinning. On the second listen of Chailly, I found his sound rather muddy, cloudy, and murky, with an overall muted interpretation. It wasn’t necessarily sluggish or lethargic, but it was very opaque. Violeta Urmana’s Aida was rather weak last night. I still enjoyed the soprano, with her capacity to sing such sweet notes and then rip into the audience, but she was a bit underwhelming last night. Ildiko Komlosi as Amneris again, completely stole the show. She sang with such fluidity and emotion.

(The lady-bath scene, minus teh sex-ay.)

Oh Fraccaro, how you held the opera together with your bland but adequate stage-presence, singing Radames in your practiced Verdi tenor. I just don’t find Fraccaro all that exciting. He sang well. Um, yeah…If you could just go ahead and make sure you sing in Alagna’s place from now on, that will be great. And uh, yeah, mmmm, Okay?

Last night, Celeste Aida did not get booed, but this Opera Chic was beyond tempted to start mooing her dissaproval, and almost had to clamp her hands over her mouth to quell the urge! Scheduled to sing Ramfis was Orlin Anastassov, but was instead replaced by Giorgio Giuseppini; but who really cares. I mean, honestly, the night was about Celeste Aida and Bolle’s bolle.

(The scene of pre-Bolle appearance, right before the first titanic intermission.)

Again, Frengo managed to pack every single packet of free space on the stage with some sort of golden thing or a chorus/ballet member. It is a true orgy for the eyes. Incense was lit again on stage, and I went home with my hair reeking of sweet smoke, that came out easily with a lathering of kiehl's.

Which brings us to Bolle and his golden thong. I’m sorry, but when you see him on the stage, he is a monster. How did I not report on that before? I think I was more in shock from his bare, tight a$$. Bolle is just a giant. A giant, flesh-colored, beast of a man. Is it because the other ballerinas are so petit? I have no idea, but at any given time, he is just freakishly larger than anyone else dancing on stage. He is impossible to misidentify. Anyway, I have had the pleasure of seeing Bolle recently on the Milan streets (in Corso Garibaldi, he was dressed rather sporty, wearing grandpa-hip black New Balance sneakers, khakis, and a tragically unstylish black pea coat/overcoat), and he doesn't seem as incongruently large as when he is on stage.

(The oasis: Fraccaro and Urmana)

Again, Bolle had a long long long applause for his dance. Alagna wasn’t kidding when he complained that the audience showed more love to Bolle than him, because we did it again. Anyway, we all felt that Bolle was deserving of it, seeing that we stared at his gigantic a$$ for the entire Marcia Trionfale. However, Bolle didn’t grace the stage during the final curtain call as he had for La Prima. Unfortunately. And luckily, Urmana’s heart has turned again to stone, and she didn't cry for the final curtain call. 

(The tomb where Fraccaro is doomed to join the company of adequate tenors)

This time around, the opera kind of dragged. Compared to the brilliance and excitement of opening night, the pauses and intermissions were just too omnipresent, and too anchoring. For La Prima, one actually looked forward to the long pauses (two separate five-minute pauses even before the first intermission, then one thirty-minute intermission, followed by a second forty-five minute intermission) so that we could see what celebrities and Milanese society had turned-up for the fashion show. This time, however, the opera didn’t even seem cohesive, more like a bunch of separate scenes woven together. Pretty lame. Muti's whole, "Graham Vick's Macbeth with a cube on stage" started to really make sense.

Okay, the two clips from last night are currently uploading on YouTube, and I will post an update when they are up with the URLs.

WARNING #1: For Celeste Aida, Opera Chic was (comfortably) crammed into a palco box with three complete strangers, and she therefore had to be super-discreet about filming, in order to supersede the rules to bring her lovely readers such rare footage. Unfortunately for this, Fraccaro's first few bars of the aria did not survive my stealth-itude.

WARNING #2: For Bolle’s Marcia Trionfale, Opera Chic did not unload her 1GB memory card since vacationing in Vienna this Fall, and therefore, her bootleg camera p00ped-out about three-quarters into the dance. But hey, it’s all bootleg anyway, so TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET, SUCKAS!

Opera Chic Listens to Fraccaro So That You Don't Have To

This week's insane social engagements revealed a very dear and generous friend who gifted Opera Chic another ticket to attend tonight's Aida at Teatro alla Scala. Although I had already attended La Prima of Aida just two weeks ago, and was not really in need of a Zeffirelli-fix, I nonetheless graciously accepted the ticket (and no...I *didn't* try to scalp it for 3x the face-value...although for a moment, it was very tempting!).

Earlier tonight, I found myself at the theater snuggly ensconced with three various (but well-dressed) strangers in a palco box overseeing the lavish, claustrophobic Zeffirelli sets, and again, Bolle's glorious, tight a$$ (Opera Chic surreptitiously snuck a video of Bolle's dance to the Marcia Trionfale, which will be uploaded tomorrow with my review).

I am also able to report that Fraccaro, Alagna's Radames replacement, doesn't totally suck. He's not worse than Alagna, but not better. At the very least, his blood sugar seemed to be under control. He wasn't booed, and the loggionisti were polite and reserved (boring). Opera Chic has also (surreptitiously again) filmed Fraccaro’s Celeste Aida aria from tonigh's performance, also to appear on YouTube. Stay close!

Opera Chic Exclusive Please Credit Opera Chic – Alagna Chief Counsel Speaks to Opera Chic

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."

Alagna’s new conspiracy of the day

After Alagna’s free sidewalk performance in Piazza della Scala last night, he was still defending the claim that the whole affair was a conspiracy, because Zeffirelli and Lissner are his BFF&Es.

In today’s Il Giorno newspaper (see image on left), Alagna made the statement that Frengo has invited him today, “very loving words”, to visit him in his fabulous villa in Rome. He also said that Lissner privately told him, “You sang like a God. But I am powerless”.

It’s strange that Zeffirelli, who was one of the first colleagues to slam Alagna on Monday morning, has now invited the tenor to his villa.

rome is pretty fun, guys. i fly there on the weekends sometime. p.s. my best friend frengo lives there.

vvvv UPDATE UPDATE vvvv

Here I made the translation of the Il Giorno article, which is rather illuminating:

La Polemica alla Scala (The Schism at La Scala)
Alagna ritorna a teatro...Ma solo col videofonino (Alagna returns to the theater, but only with a mobile phone)

“After the singing show on the street, he starts speaking. But rapidly, as it is impossible to stop him.”

“He points his cellphone camera towards the theater and speaks: ‘Do you see what him doing? I am photographing La Scala. A last souvenir/memory. I don’t know when I’ll see her again.’”

“He continues, speaking about his hypoglycemia (calo glicemico): ‘My doctor was with me. He took a sample of my blood, and I was hypoglycemic; I had felt sick, and I had exited the stage for that reason. But nobody cared. Nobody from the theater came to my dressing room to ask me how I was feeling!’”

“Why this doctor is only mentioned now?”

“’The doctor was there. I also have a doctor’s note! I love the audience, and I never disrespect the audience. When I came to La Scala for La Bohème, my first wife had just died a mere two days before. I cried, but I still came here. And for my second La Traviata, I jumped through hoops.’”

“You say that your 'divorce/separation' from La Scala was premeditated, but didn’t you also say, right after la prima, 'If they boo me, I will leave?’”

“’What I said was, “If the audience does not want me, I will leave.” It’s different. I have a Sicilian temper, and I’m proud of that. I am a proud man.’”

“This will cost you...”

“’No. I am the one who is suing La Scala. Because I feel there is something strange going on here. Zeffirelli invited me tomorrow [ed: la piccola intervista was taken last night, so Alagna is referring to today] in Rome with very loving words. Lissner told me, “You sang like a god, but I am powerless”. Do you understand? Who is in charge here?”

“What about the Aida DVD?”

“’They only need what they filmed during general rehearsals and la prima. But Decca already told me, that without me, there is no DVD. They would not dare sell it.’”

“You accepted the offer to sing at Sanremo, but it will happen the same day of your la prima in Vienna Manon Lescaut [sic: here the Il Giorno journalist makes a mistake: she writes Manon Lescaut, but it’s really Massenet's Manon], and how will you manage to do that?’”

“’We shall see: Everything is possible, if one wants…or I can go to Sanremo as a special guest.’”

BREAKING NEWS: ALAGNA, SO WHUT THE F**K?

(Alagna waves farewell to his fans in Piazza della Scala)

SO WHAT THE F**K?

Alagna has clearly lost his mind!

There was a huge demonstration in Piazza della Scala all afternoon and early evening, which added to the circus atmosphere that embraced Alagna, as he appeared outside of La Scala this evening, brandishing his cell phone.

“Alagna, who had said he would sue the theater if they did not let him return, arrived in Piazza della Scala shortly before Verdi's "Aida" was due to start and began singing before a crowd of onlookers and photographers”.

More from Opera Chic in a moment...

vvvvUPDATE UPDATEvvvv

Roberto, slow down, buddy. This is all a little too much for me to take right now.

Soooo, Alagna was found this evening outside of Teatro alla Scala in the piazza shortly after Aida began tonight, cavorting with his cellphone and belting-out a few snippets from selected arias.

Taking a picture with his cell phone, he said, "I came to take a souvenir, my last happy memory of La Scala because I don't know when I will see it again.” BWHAHAHAHA!

Alagna, dizzy with hypoglycemia, spouted to the reporters:

“My blood sugar Sunday night was 0.50. It was way too low for me to go on. La Scala did not wait for me and nobody came to see me in the dressing room. I could have fainted right there!”

“I sang in this theater La Bohème only two days after the death of my first wife, and I have replaced a tenor in La Traviata here, singing four times in five days.”

“Now La Scala has forgotten everything.”

Privately, Alagna guaranteed that both Zeffirelli and Lissner sent him a message of solidarity. Alagna also revealed that, “Decca said they only make the Aida DVD if I am the protagonist in this production. And in Sanremo, I will go as a special guest. My wife will not go to Sanremo with me, but Angela and I will make a record of pop music duets.”

ALAGNA IS H4RC0RE AS HELL!

But can you believe he played his "MY DEAD WIFE" card?! That's really weak Alagna.

Alagna’s all like, “I can't wait till everyone in the world sees me and my crazy devil-may-care attitude!”

vvvv UPDATE vvvv

"Addio fiorito asil, di letizia e d'amor. Sempre il mite suo sembiante con strazio atroce vedrò."

This link from Corriere della Sera relays another gem from Alagna's little show tonight:

"With his eyes turned towards ' al teatro del Piermarini', [ed: il Piermarini is sometimes used to name "La Scala", based on the name of the architect] Alagna sang Pinkerton's sweet aria, 'Addio fiorito asil, di letizia e d'amor,' from Madama Butterfly.

Alagna out / Fraccaro in

Tonight's la locandina (poster), taken one hour ago, in front of Teatro alla Scala.

Opera Chic promises more news, in a bit!

A Second Gunman From the Loggione?

NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO READ TONIGHT’S BREAKING NEWS ON THE ALAGNA LAWSUIT AND HIS MEDICAL CERTIFICATE, PLEASE GO TO THE POST BELOW. HERE OPERA CHIC FINALLY HAS THE TIME TO GIVE YOU SOME MUCH-NEEDED AFTER-THE-FACT ANALYSIS.

Sooooo, I am just back from an exciting dinner with one of my sources, and now that the breaking news seems to have stopped coming-in (at least for tonight), we finally have the time to sit down with a nice glass of Le Grive 2003, and think about everything that has happened these last few days since the Alagna walk-out; especially try to make sense of the madness.

There are two main theories about the booing incident circulating here in Milan, and Opera Chic personally leans towards the second. But we shall see.

Theory #1: It boils down to the fact that you don’t need a hundred co-conspirators to boo a singer. You just need a handful. Maestro Riccardo Muti, who was for all practical purposes, fired by the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra after a twenty-year reign, and widely hated by the majority of the loggionisti, still has a small, but very loud set of supporters.

So, the theory goes: Muti’s nostalgic supporters are outraged at the fact that exactly one week after La Prima in Milan (tomorrow night) Maestro Muti will conduct a Don Pasquale in provincial Ravenna, and no one cares at all, because all attention is on Teatro alla Scala. They decided to teach a little lesson to Roberto Alagna, a tenor prominent on Muti’s own sh*t-list. La Scala celebrates her victory over Muti by hiring Muti’s enemy, who had been blacklisted by Maestro Muti for over ten years? Okay, we will show Alagna how much we “love” him, and cheer him with a mighty round of booing.

Theory #2: Some reliable loggionisti, happy that Muti had left, realized that either Alagna personally, or La Scala management, actually planted “la claque”, the famously hired hit-men who came to prominence, especially in the post-war era at Teatro alla Scala.

Just go back to the video from Sunday night, and notice that when the aria stops, there’s some very quiet applause, but no booing just yet. Then, after a few seconds, the booing starts. The reason (somebody who was in the loggione Sunday night assures me) is that somebody, clearly planted either by Alagna or by the La Scala management, yelled “Bravo” at least once or twice. That was the initial spark, that convinced people to start booing. Ironically, not booing the performance, per se (it was a B- performance, but certainly not an outrage), but booing at the presence of “la claque” itself. According to this theory, the booing started mostly as retaliation to “la claque”.

Opera Chic herself has a very clear idea of what she would do if she were in charge of La Scala’s general management. I’d personally accept the prodigal son back into the house, and then slaughter a giant cow to appease the opera gods.

(vvvUPDATE UPDATEvvv)

Some of my dear readers have been emailing me and asking: So, what’s up with the “leaked video" (Embedded Video Link Warning) that is found on the multimedia pages of La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera? Well, it’s not exactly leaked, and it’s certainly not bootlegged.

Neither Teatro alla Scala or Decca have been responsible for the actual filming of the productions that we are seeing online. La Scala, for the past few years, have been contracting their recordings to Rai Trade, who offer to La Scala a wide range of television and film productions for their events. La Scala basically does not have the technology to make a DVD, so they have their agreement with the provider, Rai Trade, the marketing arm of the government-owned, huge RAI broadcast system. Rai Trade is the exclusive worldwide distributor for La Scala Theater, Ferrara Musica, and the Maggio Fiorentino programs among many others (and you can check-out their pdf. brochure here).

In the past, La Scala had chosen TDK or Universal, or other big labels to publish their DVD recordings of the performances. The small clip from the unfortunate (but, c'mon, totally hilarious) performance of the Alagna walk-out from Sunday night was first broadcast here to the public on RAI Tre television channel, and then later uploaded on several internet sites. It’s not bootleg, because La Scala regularly licenses newsworthy snippets to be broadcast to the public.

Of course, La Scala must have realized that the clip would be broadcast as part of a negative story. But then again, the video also shows that the audience's reaction was not as savage as some of the initial press reports would have indicated.

"ILL" ALAGNA'S LAWYER AND HIS DOCTOR SLAP LA SCALA WITH LAWSUIT

BREAKING NEWS OMG OMG PLEASE CREDIT OPERA CHIC

Opera Chic has just learned that Alagna’s attorney, Marco Rocchini, will tomorrow serve to the theater a certificate signed by Alagna's physician alleging that, “Maestro Alagna was ill when he left the stage, partly because of the shock inflicted upon him by the boos and the jeering in the audience.”

If the theater refuses to accept the medical certificate and put Alagna back on stage where he wants to be, Mr. Marco Rocchini and Alagna will proceed directly tomorrow morning to file a massive civil lawsuit to claim reimbursement for the “huge damages” that Alagna has had to suffer during this time.

For tomorrow night's Aida, Teatro alla Scala will place Walter Fraccaro as Radames. For the remaining Aida productions, the role of Radames will be alternately played by Walter Fraccaro and the aforementioned Palombi, world champion of the 100-yard sprint.

Developing more later…stay posted OMFG!

(Update: Sixty-six-year-old Marco Rocchini is also the Mayor of Milan suburb, "Arcore", which is also the town where former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi lives. He is a specialist of Civil Law, and he is known as a very skilled, aggressive civil litigator.)

Alagna, this will not end well; The critics weigh-in

Last night in Milan was the first Aida performance after the Alagna scandal, and the audience’s reaction have been extremely positive. This only serves in positively reinforcing Teatro alla Scala’s hard-line response to Alagna’s walk-off.

Reuters has started polling British music critics, and they are also dipping their cups into the punch-bowl of Alagna Hater-ade.

Norman Lebrecht states, "I can't recall any incident where an artist has walked off stage leaving colleagues open mouthed for no reason other than a bit of barracking."

[…]”’This could be the end of his mainstream career.’ Lebrecht and others said opera houses would now be more wary of hiring Alagna, unsure how he might react under pressure and knowing that his name would long be associated with the walkout. The fact that he is threatening to sue La Scala will not help.”

[…]"It's another fall in his stock," said Neil Fisher, classical music and opera editor at The Times newspaper in London. "It all adds up to a rather bad prognosis."

If you want my body and you think I'm sexy, come on, sugar, let me know...

Today’s print edition of Il Giornale carried an article in Spettacoli (Entertainment) with il ballerino Roberto Bolle’s snarky slams against Roberto Alagna, which had been reported to Opera Chic yesterday by her high-placed sources. This device seems to be the latest trend concerning the aftermath of the Alagna walk-out on Sunday night’s Aida at Teatro alla Scala. Translated from Italian, the article follows:

Bolle: Alagna è mosso dall’invidia (Translation: Alagna is Compelled by Envy)

Bolle is quoted,

“Alagna has not been classy. Here the audience rules. The audience decides who deserves cheering and who deserved booing. Alagna attacked the critics, and that I can understand; but he should not have attacked his fellow artists in the way that he did.”

“My performance has been compared to a go-go dancers’. [ed: Corriere della Sera’s music critic Maestro Paolo Isotta had a few days ago critiqued the entire production, going-on to say that Bolle’s dance was go-go-esque, and the only thing that will resonate with the audience will forever be Bolle’s golden thong-encased a$$]. But you need to analyze things in their context. In Aida, I play an Ethiopian slave, and therefore design and costume must be considered in that context. I didn’t dare suggest this earlier, but now considering Alagna’s provocation, I must admit that he surely is envious of my perfect physique and of my 'glute' [ed: killer a$$]”.

“Sunday night I was in my dressing room, getting my body-paint applied, and I noticed a lot of commotion in the backstage area. All the artists remained silent. We were left speechless. We just could not believe what had just happened. Alagna at least had to finish Act I. Was that a tantrum? Okay, yes it was. But at least he should have asked for forgiveness later.”

“But I have to concede that Alagna has shown great courage. He has been a genius in his folly; he gave us a ‘coup de teatre’ that will remain in history and that has captured the attention of the media.”

Today's print-edition of Corriere della Sera carries the same statement from Bolle (that Opera Chic carried yesterday in the post here), but expands on his quote with the additional phrase from il ballerino reading, "Un colpo di testa sbagliato, da kamikaze.” Which translated, means that Alagna had, "made a wrong-headed move [literally a “head-butt”], executed kamikaze-style”.

ALAGNA: I SANG RADAMES WITHOUT PHLEGM

This morning, Corriere della Sera links AGR Radio, who released a short, candid interview (in Italian language only) with Alagna on the advent of his walking-off the stage at Teatro alla Scala, and what he plans to do now that the controversy of his actions have begun to sink-in and Lissner is not listening. heh.

Alagna rambles through the interview backing-up the claims that Opera Chic had discovered yesterday at the theater, that he does indeed intend to show-up to the theater on Thursday night, regardless of the fact that he has been told by Lissner (GM) that he’s been dismissed. He also shares his theory that it was a conspiracy placed to purposely malign him and his success at Teatro alla Scala, mostly because he saw replacement tenor Antonello Palombi warming up for two hours before the performance. He also blames journalists for misquoting him. He also goes on to say that there are too many haters that envy him, and therefore they are out to ruin his career.

Also, even if you don’t comprehend Italian, make sure you listen to at least around minute 6 and 30 seconds, where Alagna starts singing. wtf?!

His whole defense is now this: at the time of the booing incident, he didn’t know that it was a normal, accepted thing at Teatro alla Scala. He thought it was a really bad thing. Therefore, he pretends that he now understands that booing is like freedom of expression and goes on to say, “Now I’ve begun to understand that this booing thing is not an evil thing. Now I shall sing”. (“Adesso ho capito che questa cosa non è una cosa per male... allora canterò"). Really, that’s his defense! He says again, “Now I’ve learned that boos and whistles here are normal, OK then, I’ll sing even if people are booing. I didn’t know that before.” He didn't know guys! He had no idea...

He says quite a few other intriguing things. But all in all, he’s basically riding a huge back-peddling bicycle throughout the entire interview, slamming on the brakes of his indignant tirade and trying to repair a bit of damage. Blaming the press, blaming his feelings, etc…And is it just me, or does Alagna look like a bloated Gary Oldman? Anyway, here are some choice quotes translated into English:

On the media conspiracy that twisted his words, making it look like Alagna will never come back to Teatro alla Scala:

• Alagna, “What I said was, ‘If they don’t want me, I’ll never come back’ (‘Se non mi vogliono, non tornero mai più’). But the media has edited out the, ‘If they don’t want me’ part, which is why everyone is misquoting me as saying I’ll never return.”

Other quotes from Alagna on the booing:

• Alagna, “I could never boo somebody. I’m the son of Sicilian immigrants to France, and I learned to respect people’s feelings. My grandfather said, ‘Wish well to those who hate you.’ So I wish well to all those who booed me.”

• Alagna, “I’d really like to meet these people [ed: the people who booed], to understand them.”

• Alagna, “This is a human thing. If it's normal to be booed, then that’s fine. Let's all sing with the boos then.

• Alagna, “At the moment I heard the booing, I felt earth opening beneath me.”

Alagna on Lissner

• Alagna, “Lissner is a friend, he was kind to me in the dressing room. He has a work to do, I understand him. Zeffirelli wants to do La Traviata with me and Angela: ‘It will be a scandal’, he told me.”

Alagna on PHLEGM rofl

• Alagna, “My daughter called me, she told me she had listened to the opera on the radio from France and she said, ‘You’ve been bravissimo, not even a little phlegm.’”

(No, I didn’t make-up that last quote…I swear!!)