http://calitreview.com/296 Book reviews, essays, and author interviews. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:55:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 http://calitreview.com/296/comment-page-1#comment-45168 jane dashwood Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:35:13 +0000 http://calitreview.com/2007/12/11/daniel-barenboim-at-la-scala/#comment-45168 i hav always wanted to go to the la scala opera house. can someone describe the place for me and its history? i hav always wanted to go to the la scala opera house. can someone describe the place for me and its history?

]]> http://calitreview.com/296/comment-page-1#comment-8052 Peter Bridges Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:19:12 +0000 http://calitreview.com/2007/12/11/daniel-barenboim-at-la-scala/#comment-8052 Judith Harris’s fine essay needs no comment, yet I will add one. She brings out beautifully the figure of the superb Israeli musician conducting at La Scala a masterpiece by the great anti-Semitic German. Robert Berger comments that before this new production of Tristan und Isolde, Wagner was performed at La Scala in the 1990s. The whole question of Wagner and Italy is fascinating, and one hopes Judith Harris will have more to tell us about it. I find, in a few minutes’ search, that a Wagner opera was first performed in Italy in 1871--Lohengrin, in Bologna. A bit late, perhaps, for an opera that appeared in 1850; but its first New York performance was that same year, and it was first performed in London only four years later. In any case, the Italians grew to be good fans, and by the end of the nineteenth century Wagner led the list (Verdi was second) of composers whose operas were being performed in Italy. Some decades later, the Duce said he liked Wagner better than Puccini--but Vittorio Mussolini often saw his father asleep during a Wagner opera. Now, Ms. Harris, tell us more! Judith Harris’s fine essay needs no comment, yet I will add one. She brings out beautifully the figure of the superb Israeli musician conducting at La Scala a masterpiece by the great anti-Semitic German. Robert Berger comments that before this new production of Tristan und Isolde, Wagner was performed at La Scala in the 1990s. The whole question of Wagner and Italy is fascinating, and one hopes Judith Harris will have more to tell us about it. I find, in a few minutes’ search, that a Wagner opera was first performed in Italy in 1871–Lohengrin, in Bologna. A bit late, perhaps, for an opera that appeared in 1850; but its first New York performance was that same year, and it was first performed in London only four years later. In any case, the Italians grew to be good fans, and by the end of the nineteenth century Wagner led the list (Verdi was second) of composers whose operas were being performed in Italy. Some decades later, the Duce said he liked Wagner better than Puccini–but Vittorio Mussolini often saw his father asleep during a Wagner opera. Now, Ms. Harris, tell us more!

]]> http://calitreview.com/296/comment-page-1#comment-8039 robert berger Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:09:24 +0000 http://calitreview.com/2007/12/11/daniel-barenboim-at-la-scala/#comment-8039 Correction: The statement that La Scala has not seen a Wagner production in three decades is incorrect.Former La Scala music director Riccardo Muti conducted a production of Wagner's Ring cycle in the 90s. Correction: The statement that La Scala has not seen a Wagner production in three decades is incorrect.Former
La Scala music director Riccardo Muti conducted a
production of Wagner’s Ring cycle in the 90s.

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