Applause for La Scala premiere, tensions in the square

"I'm sorry" for the absence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, at the premiere of La Scala, "but they did the right thing: the reopening of Notre Dame required their presence," the mayor of Milan replied to our microphone. No surprise then added the host for the protests that accompanied the guests' entrance to the theatre from afar: 'It's the history of La Scala and the premiere of La Scala. Useless to be surprised, let's try to understand the reasons. At a historical moment like this, it would be strange not to expect the protests,' he concluded. And again: 'Meyer was a great superintendent, even during the Covid period where he did something extraordinary, he was always very collaborative,' said Mayor Sala. "Sometimes we have been criticised for taking foreign superintendents, but he is deeply attached to the city. Ortombina will continue on his path and do his best, he knows La Scala and I am sure he is a good choice," he added.

"The La Scala premiere is limited to a few people, because there are no more people inside. Today the country is facing a difficult time. This government, despite all the criticism it receives, is doing an excellent job if you only think of the credibility it has at European level. We have the spread never so low. Miracles cannot happen,' the president of the Lombardy region commented to our microphone. 'It is a time when people protest all the time and everywhere. Sometimes they are right, sometimes with some doubts about their motives. This government is giving excellent answers,' he added.

"I am happy that the mayor accepted my proposal to have Liliana Segre at the centre of the stage alongside our ladies," commented the president of the Senate, accompanied like the other guests on the Royal stage by their respective wives.

There was also some shouting in the theatre. 'Save Sant'Agata' was shouted before the start of Mameli's anthem. If last year a shout had gone out from the gallery 'W l'Italia antifascista', this year the appeal (applauded by the audience) went to the protection of Verdi's villa in Sant'Agata, at Villanova d'Arda (Piacenza), now closed and put up for sale at the behest of the court of Parma due to disputes between the heirs.

Re-adapted from Angel de Saavedra's Don Alvaro, ò la fuerza del sino, after its debut with public acclaim at the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre on November 10, 1862, Verdi, not satisfied with the outcome, had the libretto reworked by Antonio Ghislanzoni with a view to the La Scala rehearsal on February 27, 1869, for which he reworked the score and the order of the scenes, with a massive intervention in the finale, with Don Alvaro witnessing the death of Donna Leonora and preparing for redemption, while in the St. Petersburg version, - crushed by the curse of the Marquis of Calatrava - he threw himself off the cliff.

At La Scala, it was still a success, even if the unusual - for the Milanese public - heterogeneous mixture of tragic and comic aroused not a few perplexities. Dramatic coherence and the schematisms and axioms of melodrama were called into question, sacrificed on the more complex altar, cipherously Verdian, of a representation of the human of his characters in the round. All the more so in an opera that has its fulcrum in destiny, the inexorable moira at whose wheel the fate of the many characters in this opera and beyond is spun and severed.

Finally, the colourful note: the opera, either because of its title, or because of the nefarious events of the plot, or because of an unfortunate line in the third act, that 'Fallì l'impresa' written by Piave and then transformed into the more bland and reassuring 'Fu vana impresa' has a reputation for bringing bad luck. The unfortunate anecdotes, both true and alleged, add up over more than a century and a half of antiquity, with voices that break down and accidents along the way: the stage is often treacherous, and this applies to everyone, we must never forget, and chance not infrequently does the rest more acutely than 'jella'. In this regard, Benedetto Croce is said to have added the famous 'it is not true, but I take my precautions', which Eduardo De Filippo reinterpreted as 'To be superstitious is ignorant, but not to be so is bad luck'. In short, it is difficult to pronounce on the subject for someone like me who does not believe in horoscopes, not even astrology, and even doubts fate: that it is all the fault of chance, however, seems possible to me. Or call it fate or whatever you like, if you like!

As always, the St Ambrose premiere is also a time to meet the big names in economics and finance. And so the final note, for a newspaper like ours, is more than due. Among the guests in the room, Giuseppe Castagna, CEO of Banco Bpm, commented on the strengthening of the bank's capital by Crédit Agricole: 'It confirms their support. I am very happy with their investment'. For Unicredit's ops, he added that 'it is still a long way off'. And that was the news, which the agencies did not readily let slip. Then Fedele Confalonieri, president of Mediaset, when asked about a possible opa on Prosiebensat said 'they don't keep me up to date'. Also in the room were Antonio Patuelli, president of Abi, Emma Marcegaglia, president and CEO of Marcegaglia Holding, among the most elegant of the evening, and the unfailing lady of every premiere, Diana Bracco, president of the Bracco Group, impersonating for those of us present the exquisite chic sobriety of Milanese industry in the good old days.

As for the glamour, it was all but absent (partly because it was compressed by the massive and oppressive presence of the police force) was the only discordant note of the evening; and the tired RAI live broadcast of Milly Carlucci and a mostly out-of-time Bruno Vespa was perhaps its most accomplished amplification.