Rome opera house was in
disarray Monday after iconic conductor Riccaro Muti abruptly
quit at the weekend citing labour strife, mismanagement and cash
problems which he said deprived him of the necessary "serenity"
to work.
Labour unions echoed Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino and Opera
General Manager Carlo Fuortes in hoping the flamboyant
Naples-born conductor, 73, would change his mind.
A representative of Italy's biggest union, CGIL, said it
"very much hopes" Muti will reconsider his decision.
Entertainment workers' union Fistel Cisl also said it was
"really hopeful" Muti will rethink.
Muti withdrew as the primary conductor of the Rome Opera
after six years, citing ongoing funding, management and labour
strife at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, at which he holds the
title honorary director for life.
In a letter to the director of the fractious opera house,
Muti withdrew from planned productions of Verdi's Aida opening
in November and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, for spring
2015.
"There are no conditions (there) to ensure the serenity
necessary to my leading successful productions," Muti wrote to
Fuentes.
"Unfortunately, despite all my efforts to contribute to
your cause," Muti wrote, problems of state and city funding,
management authority and labour peace "have emerged (again) in
just the last few days."
Muti said that he would dedicate his time in Italy instead
to the Luigi Cherubini Orchestra that he founded for young
professional musicians.
The world-famous conductor, who will now have more time to
devote to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), said he decided
to quit the Rome Opera "with the greatest regret, after long and
troubled reflection."
Fuortes joined Marino in expressing the hope that Muti
would return "once we can overcome the problems that still
plague us, and the music system in Italy more generally."
Earlier this year Muti extended his tenure as music
director of the CSO for five years, through 2020.
"In 2020 I won't be 80 yet," Muti said at Monday's
announcement, quipping that his family was known for youthful
vitality continuing into old age.
"My great-grandfather remarried at 76," said the great
conductor, who was music director of La Scala in Milan for 19
years.
Muti's quitting Rome is the second recent departure of an
Italian conductor from a major Italian opera company.
Several months ago Gianandrea Noseda withdrew as music
director of the Turin Opera because of artistic differences with
that company's general manager.
Noseda is still scheduled to lead the company's winter
North American tour of Rossini's William Tell, which is
scheduled to begin December 3 at Chicago's Harris Theater.
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