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Too often we have criticized the management of the Teatro alla Scala and the absence of an artistic policy in the past years to not see in the resignation of Riccardo Muti the only reasonable solution to both the deep crisis the theatre is going through and the motion of distrust which the employees voted for recently. Some years ago Claudio Abbado left in good time for Vienna when faced with the hostility of the orchestra – and that in spite of a far more convincing artistic assessment. The excessive personalization of artistic power, the glaring absence of any policy, even more evident since the pompous reopening of the renovated Scala, without a real plan for the two theatres (the refurbished Scala and Arcimboldi, the house which for four years replaced the historic one) and the stream of damaging internal rivalry - all this has resulted in a revolt of the staff. The crisis has been smouldering for several years. The general public, or at least the music lover, was beginning to think that the discrepancy between an obedient press and average or disappointing productions was becoming too great. In addition, even if the intrinsic qualities of Riccardo Muti are not at issue, many are those who noticed at the same time an interpretation at least debatable (some even say outdated), a second-rate choice of singers and the refusal to accept any good productions. What happens at La Scala has not been of great interest anymore for many (much too many) seasons. Zubin Mehta smilingly replied to a fan who asked him when he would return: “La Scala? That is another country!”. Countless anecdotes have been told: the orchestra which was unavailable for rehearsals for this or that (great) conductor, Carlos Kleiber pushed aside from “Otello” in favour of the music director – without even mentioning the way Claudio Abbado was treated. In these circumstances – and it is hard for us to say this – the departure of Riccardo Muti can help this institution to make a fresh start. But the theatre and its audience have suffered enough these past 19 years from Claudio Abbado’s absence for them not to wish that the relationship between the Teatro alla Scala and Muti will “normalize” itself and that an artistic collaboration which, given a different context, could still bear marvellous fruits, will not be severed completely. On this page we have often criticized the policy of La Scala. We would like to say that Riccardo Muti made our spine tingle when thanks to him we discovered Cherubini’s “Lodoiska” (unluckily never taken up again), when he made us rediscover Rossini’s “Guglielmo Tell” (no rerun ever either) or, more recently, when he conducted Francis Poulenc’s “Les Dialogues des Carmélites” extremely well. It is for such moments that we are – still – waiting for him and that we admire him. |
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