Booing to end at La Scala?

Many a singer has been driven from La Scala's stage by the boos of the infamous loggionisti: the self-styled arbiters of operatic quality upstairs in the cheap seats.

Incoming director Alexander Pereira intends to do something about it.

"I have the best singers at my disposal. But many don't want to appear at La Scala because they feel intimidated; you could even say terrorized. We cannot permit that," said Pereira - not to a newspaper, not to his Facebook page, but to the culprits themselves.

In a 90-minute visit to the HQ of the Amici del Loggione, he met their representatives in person to set out his case for operatic harmony.

"Even Pavarotti had the odd bad evening," he is said to have told them.  "Callas and Caruso will not come back." 

Will the personal approach succeed where the pontificaters of the past failed?

Comments

[JDabrowski]

And of course Callas and Caruso also "had the odd bad evening." Good work confronting these people directly!

[SJT]

Well, 10 out of 10 for sheer moxey.

The trouble is, Pereira presents an eminently rational argument, to notoriously irrational people.

Good luck with that...

[Mskapay]

After the Traviata booing and Bezcala announcing he probably wouldn't return, I wrote a lengthy email to La Scala about the loggionista, and how in the era of increased visibility with HD and simulcasts, along with the financial problems of the arts, they weren't doing themselves any favours by doing things to put off potential new fans, as well as making a miserable experience for their singers. I mean, my god, Cecilia Bartoli skipped La Scala for years, and when she finally returned for a concert, was treated to shouts of how she insulted Rossini. Pereira is right, Callas and Caruso aren't going to crawl out of their graves, and all the bellowing in the world at the modern singers isn't going to help matters. Bravo to Pereira for taking a stand, to hell with the loggionista.

[Sheila]

IMHO, not likely to change. They enjoy booing so much.

I suggest the management fine booers, until they can't afford their cheap seats. Of course that won't happen. Nor will hiring private police to throw the jerks out even though the management is within its rights to declare booing improper behavior. Lawsuit time, no doubt.

I wonder if it is illegal in Italy to simply refuse to sell tickets to certain individuals? Maybe block these offenders entirely? An interesting thought, even if technically illegal. Who needs them? The cheap seats can be sold to others--polite tourists, even!--especially on opening nights.

[Rameau]

If Pereira has the best singers of the world at his disposal, why on earth are his casts in Salzburg so weak?
Not difficult to foresee that the Scala crisis will only deepen with him, just like in Salzburg...

[Alexander]

...in case of his failure to cope with it I would propose to turn the flop into the win using the right marketing to announce Scala as the only place in the world where "you can have backfeed from your haters in an audible form" ;) Anyone who won't get such a backfeed is out of Callas-Pavarotti privilege club ...