Muti and LaScala

There is quite a ruckus at the Teatro alla Scala right now. All performances have been cancelled and the staff of the house (including the orchestra) have asked for Riccardo Muti's resignation. The underlying reason for this is apparently the feeling that Muti wants full control of the house by arranging for the board to fire Carlo Fontana, the general manager, with whom Muti had a falling out, and installing his supporter Mauro Meli in his stead. But apparently the orchestra was offended by Muti's not consulting them. An orchestra member was quoted as saying "If he had spoken to us, it would have been positive." Is this just a case of hurt feelings?

My own feelings about Muti are somewhat ambivalent. I strongly disagree with his come scritto policy, when it comes to performing mid-19th century Italian opera (Verdi in particular), but I have enjoyed many of his performances. I was especially moved by a Brahm's 2nd he conducted with the NY Philharmonic. He returns in a few weeks to conduct Liszt's A Faust Symphony and I'm looking forward to that eagerly.

I'm sure that this will work itself out, but it only reminds me that the next time I go to Italy, I shouldn't depend on seeing the performances scheduled during my trip.

My blog should really have a much more interesting name. I'm giving it some thought and hopefully will come up with something soon.

Added March 21: There is a pretty nasty article in the Independent (via Arts Journal) about Muti and another in the Times (courtesy no guru, no method, no teacher) speculating on possible sucessors (even though Muti hasn't resigned yet).