The first night of Kenneth MacMillan‘s Manon at La Scala tomorrow night will be affected by strike action.
The CGIL union has announced the strike, but the theatre has said that the performance will go ahead with reduced scenery and lighting… a bit of a bummer if you’ve forked out €150 for your seat.
The opening night cast has Svetlana Zakharova as Manon, Roberto Bolle is Des Grieux, Alessandro Grillo is Monsieur G.M. and Antonino Sutera plays Lescaut. The dancers have confirmed that they will perform tomorrow evening.
La Scala was determined to keep the production on stage rather than disappoint the audience by cancelling the performance.
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 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.