Russian Opera ‘Boris Godunov’ to Open Next La Scala Season

From left, La Scala director Riccardo Chailly, Milan's mayor Giuseppe Sala, La Scala general manager Dominique Meyer and La Scala ballet director Manuel Legris attend at a press conference to present the 2022/2023 season, at the Milan La Scala opera house, Italy, Monday, June 6, 2022. (AP)
From left, La Scala director Riccardo Chailly, Milan's mayor Giuseppe Sala, La Scala general manager Dominique Meyer and La Scala ballet director Manuel Legris attend at a press conference to present the 2022/2023 season, at the Milan La Scala opera house, Italy, Monday, June 6, 2022. (AP)
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Russian Opera ‘Boris Godunov’ to Open Next La Scala Season

From left, La Scala director Riccardo Chailly, Milan's mayor Giuseppe Sala, La Scala general manager Dominique Meyer and La Scala ballet director Manuel Legris attend at a press conference to present the 2022/2023 season, at the Milan La Scala opera house, Italy, Monday, June 6, 2022. (AP)
From left, La Scala director Riccardo Chailly, Milan's mayor Giuseppe Sala, La Scala general manager Dominique Meyer and La Scala ballet director Manuel Legris attend at a press conference to present the 2022/2023 season, at the Milan La Scala opera house, Italy, Monday, June 6, 2022. (AP)

Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala on Monday announced the celebration of next season's gala premiere with the Russian opera "Boris Godunov,'' in a move the opera house hopes will underline the separation of culture from politics.

La Scala's 2022-23 calendar, set long before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, also marks the Milan opera house's premiere of another Russian opera, Antonín Dvořák's "Rusalka,” and includes a host of Russian stars singing roles in the Russian composition as well as other titles.

"We hope that we will have a St. Ambrose (feast day) that will also celebrate peace," said Mayor Giuseppe Sala, who is president of La Scala’s board, calling the opera by Modest Mussorgsky "a masterpiece." He referred to the Dec. 7 feast day for Milan’s patron saint when La Scala holds its gala season opener each year, one of the most anticipated events of the European cultural calendar.

General Manager Dominique Meyer emphasized that choices were made two to three years ago, in keeping with opera world's practice of drafting calendars and booking stars years in advance.

The announcement of an unusually heavy Russian calendar comes months after La Scala became one of the first opera houses to exclude Russian conductor Valery Gergiev after he failed to respond to their appeal to denounce the war.

Opera house management was quick to separate Gergiev from other Russian artists who will be performing in Milan, noting his position as the general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg puts him close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We considered him like a politician. The others, no. He is almost culture minister. It is another case," Meyer said.

"Boris Godunov," which the La Scala program calls "a disturbing fresco on the brutality and solitude of power," opened the 1979-80 season, conducted by Claudio Abbado.

Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov, who sang in last year’s season premiere, will sing the title role in "Boris Godunov," while Russian tenor Dmitry Korchak headlines "Rusalka."

Chief conductor and musical director Riccardo Chailly, who assisted Abbado’s 1979 premiere of "Boris Godunov," said he has long been pushing for more Russian music on La Scala’s calendar, historically heavy on the Italian repertoire as the premier opera house in the birthplace of lyric theater. Giuseppe Verdi is by far the composer most represented on the Dec. 7 gala season opener.

"It would be serious to penalize the artistic aspect for the tragedy that we are all aware is happening in Ukraine," Chailly said. "It seems to me necessary, in light of what we are living unfortunately for more than 90 days, (to say) that great music can live independently, as it should be.

"It is important to distinguish the two things. Give merit to those who deserve it and to bring back to life masterpieces completely independently of events."

The 14 operas on the calendar also include "Lucia di Lammermoor," starring American soprano Lisette Oropesa in the title role opposite Juan Diego Flórez. The Donizetti opera was supposed to open the 2020-21 season, but was delayed because of pandemic restrictions.

La Scala is also reprising Umberto Giordano’s "Andrea Chénier," which opened the 2017-18 season, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the late stage and film director Franco Zeffirelli's birth with his staging of "La Boheme," and premiering Leonardo Vinci’s Neapolitan opera "Li Zite ’Ngalera" as part of a project to relaunch Italian baroque opera.

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, who performed to rave reviews last week at La Scala, will sing four dates of Verdi’s Macbeth, alternating with Belarusian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk.

The ballet season opens with Rudolf Nureyev's choreography for "The Nutcracker," marking the 30 anniversary of the Russian dancer's death. The program, which includes both classics and contemporary choreographies, contains another homage to Nureyev, with his choreography to Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."



Spain Public Broadcaster Calls for ‘Debate’ over Israel’s Eurovision Participation

Yuval Raphael. (AP)
Yuval Raphael. (AP)
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Spain Public Broadcaster Calls for ‘Debate’ over Israel’s Eurovision Participation

Yuval Raphael. (AP)
Yuval Raphael. (AP)

Spain's public broadcaster said on Friday it has called for a "debate" over Israel's participation in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland due to "concerns" over the situation in war-torn Gaza.

RTVE has sent a letter to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which manages the event, "requesting a debate on the participation of Israeli public television (KAN)" in the contest, the Spanish public broadcaster said in a statement.

The Swiss city of Basel will host the glitzy annual extravaganza -- one of the world's biggest live television events which involves countries from Europe to Australia -- at the St. Jakobshalle indoor arena, with the semi-finals on May 13 and 15, and the final on May 17.

Public broadcasters of participating nations select the candidate which will represent them, so the absence of KAN would mean there is no Israeli performer at this year's event.

RTVE said it "reiterates its support" for Eurovision "but also acknowledges the concerns that the situation in Gaza and the participation of KAN public television are raising within Spanish civil society".

"It would be appropriate for the EBU to recognize the existence of this debate and provide a forum for discussion between EBU member broadcasters on the participation of Israeli public television," the statement added.

- October 7 survivor -

Thousands protested at last year's contest in the Swedish city of Malmo against Israel's participation against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Israeli competitor Eden Golan had to change her lyrics over their apparent references to the deadly Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war.

A survivor of that attack will represent Israel in Basel.

When Hamas gunmen killed more than 370 people at the Nova music festival, Yuval Raphael survived by hiding under a pile of bodies. She said she would be ready to face the kind of hostility Golan did.

Finland's public broadcaster Yle received two petitions last month demanding it push for Israel to be banned from the contest due to the war in Gaza.

One was signed by more than 500 music and culture industry professionals, while a public petition was signed by over 10,000 people.

Israel has won the contest four times, most recently in Lisbon in 2018.

On October 7, 2023, Palestinian gunmen launched a cross-border attack in Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

Israel's ensuing bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 51,000 people in the territory, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has deemed its figures generally reliable.