Here’s a story in which practically nobody in authority comes off well. Daniel Harding conducts a concert at La Scala that includes a selection from Tristan und Isolde, about which the Corriere della Sera‘s venerable critic Paolo Isotta snipes “Harding’s conducting was so soft it made you think he wanted to back the unfounded theory that Wagner was homosexual.” So then La Scala’s GM Stéphane Lissner kicks Isotta off the press list for the company: he can still review Scala events but will have to pay for his own ticket. [The Telegraph]
The battle between tenor and conductor reached a climax when Cillario denied Franco his ovation at the end of “E lucevan le stelle.” An infuriated Corelli flipped his overlong thumb to his teeth in disgust and ran offstage. The audience was left stunned, the orchestra still playing the ascending scale leading to Tosca’s entrance, and Tosca herself bursting on stage to find it empty and the audience buzzing around in a mini uproar. Backstage, Chapin saw Corelli screaming at Charlie Riecker, teeth clenched, eyes bulging. There was no time for discussion. Chapin grabbed Corelli and pushed him back on the stage, where he resumed his role.