Good news for the La Scala public: Riccardo Chailly will be the next musical director after Daniel Barenboim. He is a conductor whom singers love, and he loves singers, not afraid to ‘accompany’ when necessary, and let them shine. He’s always been popular with the La Scala crowd, including the famous loggionisti.

The announcement isn’t yet official, but today’s Corriere carried the announcement. If all goes ahead as planned he will take up his post, under the new director of the theatre, Alexander Pereira, in January 2017.

Milan is Chailly’s hometown, yet during Riccardo Muti’s years at the helm he was an infrequent guest at the city’s famous opera house.

Pereira had previously announced that he wanted to have an Italian musical director, and there are certainly many to choose from, but from the point of view of this blogger, he has selected the right person to fill Barenboim’s shoes.