Vienna Opera and La Scala exchange goes ahead tomorrow
A much-anticipated exchange between the Vienna Opera and Milan‘s Teatro alla Scala will go ahead despite earlier fears it might be cancelled because of a strike.
Two unions at the Milan opera house – Cgil and Uil – had threatened to strike tomorrow, because of proposed changes to staff contracts announced earlier this year, thereby cancelling the performance by the Vienna State Opera. But after talks with the management, the trade unionists agreed not to go ahead with the protest action.
Tomorrow’s performances mark a renewal in traditional exchanges between La Scala and the Vienna Staatsoper. The last exchange between the two world-famous opera houses – both currently led by Frenchmen: Stephane Lissner in Milan and Dominique Meyer in Vienna – goes back to 1956 when the Staatsoper’s Herbert von Karajan invited soprano Maria Callas and La Scala’s orchestra to perform “Lucia di Lammermoor” in Vienna.
La Scala will perform Verdi‘s “Requiem” under conductor Daniel Barenboim, with Violeta Urmana, Daniela Barcellona, Rolando Villazón and Alexander Vinogradov
The Vienna Staatsoper brings Beethoven’s “Fidelio” to Milan, with a cast including Peter Seiffert and Nina Stemme. Franz Welser-Möst conducts.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
