Intendant Alexander Pereira halts the merry-go-round briefly to discuss Salzburg and La Scala with Zachary Woolfe of the New York Times.
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
The board of La Scala voted today to oust incoming general director Alexander Pereira at the end of his first season amid allegations of a conflict of interest.
Once again, beloveds, we approach the Milanese shrine that simultaneously attempted to cultivate and destroy the career of Maria Meneghini Callas.
The celebrated “lost” issue of parterre box, the queer opera zine (now found, thanks to the avid cataloging of Indiana Loiterer III.)
So we may all be on the same page as we discuss, following the jump is the video of the December 7 Traviata from La Scala.
La Cieca hears that the opening night of La Scala’s 2013 season will feature a new production of La traviata starring Diana Damrau and Piotr Beczala, directed by… no, not Franco Zeffirelli, but Dmitri Tcherniakov.
“La Scala has canceled the inaugural ballet of its season because of a strike by the chorus.”
We approach, beloveds, as unto a shrine, for these are no ordinary performances.
Due to health reasons, Natalie Dessay has withdrawn from the performances of Massenet’s Manon.
It was indeed a curious sensation making a late morning trek to East 59th Street, a block devoted to showro0ms for bizarre upscale furniture and lighting fixtures, and then to enter a boutique cinema specializing in Hindi films (the big coming attraction right now is Desi Boyz) — and all this before sitting down in…
La Cieca is just back from the HD of Don Giovanni from La Scala: excellent singing through the whole cast, strong conducting (if tending to the slow side) by Daniel Barenboim, and a smart, chic production from Robert Carsen that frankly makes Michael Grandage look like an utter bumpkin. The presentation will repeat here in…
La Scala will announce its 2011-2012 season perhaps as early as tomorrow, but in the meantime La Cieca has discovered that the Milan season will open with a gala new production of Don Giovanni, conducted by Daniel Barenboim and directed by Robert Carsen. The delectable cast is scheduled to include Anna Netrebko (Donna Anna), Elina…
René Pape has withdrawn from La Scala’s season-opening new production of Die Walküre, in what was to have been his role debut as Wotan. Vitalij Kowaljow will substitute. Pape is still scheduled to sing this role at the Berlin Staatsoper in April 2011. It is not clear at this point if Pape’s decision was based…
Everything I need to know about Bizet I learned at a Judy Chicago exhibit in 1996. Brutality against women is pervasive, and society is culpable by permitting it. Such grievances were aired at the expense of the composer’s chef d’oeuvre Carmen yesterday at La Scala’s Gala opening, viewed dal vivo at Symphony Space on 95th and Broadway.
The season at La Scala continues under the guidance of Daniele Gatti.
Extended clips of the La Scala Don Carlo as telecast on Sunday night — after the jump.
Glimpses of last night’s Don Carlo prima at La Scala:
