Intermezzo

Scandal at La Scala

Has Alexander Pereira gone too far this time?

The Italians have finally cottoned on that there might be something a bit funny about an opera boss selling a bunch of productions to himself (as reported here on an otherwise joke-free 1 April).

Ponzi, the opera

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.)

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?

Why La Scala is in the red

La Scala Intendant Stéphane Lissner was paid more (a lot more) than anyone else in Italian theatre last year. Whether you believe the 507,000 euros total quoted by La Scala itself or the 817,000 claimed by the Ministry of Culture, the figure (which covers 21 months from 30 November 2012 to 31 August 2014) dwarfs the 300,000 euros paid to his nearest rival Bruno Cagli, who heads up Santa Cecilia. 

Lissner's compensation includes a bonus of 120,000 euros, plus 85,000 euros for renting an apartment. More surprisingly, part of a further amount of 177,338 euros is severance pay - even though Lissner is leaving of his own accord in 2015 to take over the top job at the Paris Opera.

Lissner's not the only one who's milking it. La Scala General Manager Maria Di Freda gets 270,000 euros. Even Lissner's replacement, Alexander Pereira, was handed 50,000 for 'collaborating with the Intendant in planning the 2015-16 season'. 

Music Director Daniel Barenboim's salary of 112,000 euros (excluding conducting fees) looks positively paltry in comparison. As do the pay cheques of most Italian theatre bosses, who typically make do with salaries of 100-200,000 euros or less.

When the leadership delivers that sort of example, is it any wonder La Scala has so much union trouble? 

Scheduling preferences

Even if you don't keep tabs on Piotr Beczala's Facebook page, you may have read elsewhere about his extraordinary reaction to the odd three or four boos (evidence above) he received at La Scala after the season-opening La traviata.

"My last production in La Scala... I think They should engage only Italian singers ... Why I spend my time for this" schmarrn" ... Arrivederci ..." he announced, later following up with "No worrys … I am a professional Opera Singer, have a contract with Teatro alla Scala and will finish it. I shown my professionalism also yesterday in Traviata, was not actually agree with the vision of my character by stage director , but I played it as good I could… the result of my work was …my first ever buuuuh…the another result is now :I come to italy only for vacations.Thanks all for support , I am very proud of my friends and fans ,all Your reactions and words are important to me and give me strength and motivation for the future!"

So if an entire nation, the birthplace of opera no less, is unfit to display the magnitude of Mr Beczala's talents, where is?

Mein Schiff 2, apparently.

While the luxurious cruise ship explores "unchartered territory from Hamburg to Majorca", Beczala will join Elina Garanča and Johann Strauss Quartet in serenading the passengers. A snip at €2,190 and up.

Titular niceties

As widely expected, it was announced today that Riccardo Chailly will become Music Director (Direttore musicale) of La Scala in January 2017, when Daniel Barenboim's original contract was due to expire.

However Barenboim will actually step down two years earlier, in January 2015, at which point Chailly will begin two years as Chief Conductor (Direttore principale). The difference in title reflects the fact that Barenboim has already laid out the framework for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, including the preliminary selection of repertoire and artists. Chailly's responsibilities for those two years will begin and end with the works he conducts. If you don't like La Scala's schedule, Chailly's temporary title suggests, blame Barenboim.

Chailly's current contract with the Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig runs to 202o. There's no indication yet whether he still intends to fulfil it, but Barenboim has managed to combine the Staatsoper Berlin, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and a full solo career with his La Scala responsibilities.