At the time the Salzburg Festival drew to a close in 2013 - Alexander Pereira's last full year in charge - it was showing a projected deficit of over €1m. A deficit that would have been problematic for the Festival and embarrassing for Pereira.
Luckily rescue was at hand. Very close at hand. La Scala agreed to buy several Salzburg productions for a total price of €1.6m, leaving the Festival €400,000 in the black.
And who made the decision for La Scala? Incoming Intendant Alexander Pereira. Of course.
(NOT a 1 April joke.)
Will Pereira get anything of it as a pure bonus or in a more implicit form like some perks ? I'm just curious of course ;)
**********
Intermezzo replies - I hope not!
Posted by: Alexander | 01 April 2014 at 12:29 PM
You've got to admire the man's chutzpah. And if the productions are good, it's not even a bad deal for La Scala.
Posted by: Nik | 01 April 2014 at 01:11 PM
And then you read that the problem with Italy is its spoiled working poor...
Posted by: ulisse m. | 01 April 2014 at 01:17 PM
How is that legal?
Posted by: John | 01 April 2014 at 02:51 PM
So how many operas will Sven Eric Bechtolf stage at La Scala? All of them? And has any other intendant ever employed him or is it only Pereira?
*********
Intermezzo replies - Bechtolf worked exclusively in theatre until Pereira started employing him in Zurich, only a few years ago. He does occasionally work elsewhere - the latest Vienna Ring for example.
Posted by: Justin Chapman | 01 April 2014 at 03:08 PM
That's the sort of transaction we frequently see here in Portugal. Shame!
Posted by: Gi | 01 April 2014 at 07:44 PM
And then they call the european South corrupted. "Others have the name and others have the grace", we say where I come from.
Posted by: Kassandra | 01 April 2014 at 10:09 PM