Zeffirelli to sue on La Scala Aida snub

(ANSA) - Milan, October 28 - Acclaimed Italian film, television and opera director Franco Zeffirelli said he would sue Tuesday over moves by La Scala opera house to allegedly "banish" his 2006 production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida from its repertory.
    He bemoaned a decision to sell the production to a theatre in Astana in Kazakhstan, saying "La Scala's vile procedure will require the firm intervention of the magistrature".
    Zeffirelli, 91, accused the powers-that-be at the Milan opera theatre of considering him "an artist to be forgotten".
    The production of Aida in question opened the 2006/2007 opera season at La Scala to wide public acclaim. On Tuesday Zeffirelli, who is a former Senator for Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia party, described his creation as "the best production of this masterpiece that I have ever brought to the public" and "of great value and merit".