Milan-based Opera Chic posts breaking news on her blog: about an hour ago, Roberto Alagna stormed offstage after getting a round of boos for his rendition of "Celeste Aida." He then refused to return, causing his stand-in to take over while still dressed in T-shirt and jeans. There were shouts of "Shame! Shame!" and "This is La Scala!" as the new tenor tried to sing. Opera Chic will have updates through the night. I may be stuck home with a cold, but thanks to the miracle of the Internet I can still soak in the glamour, passion, and scandal of classical music.
11:47PM. Alagna speaks: "The audience didn’t understand, that’s why I left. I’m displeased,
embittered, stunned: I sang all over the world, but standing in front
of tonight’s audience, I felt like I was in another world. True
audiences — audiences with fire and blood — were not at La Scala
tonight. I sang beautifully, I was bravissimo. Too bad for those who didn’t understand. I shall never come back to La Scala: This is not a theatre, it’s a Roman Arena.... I sing with heart, with my blood...." La Cieca came back from vacation just in time.
More Alagna news.
