Riccardo Chailly and Dominique Meyer
Scala: appointment of superintendent is postponed, Sala proposes extension
The nomination is postponed expected this morning of the new superintendent of Teatro alla Scala of Milan, topic on the agenda of the meeting of board of directors, which has just ended. The accredited hypothesis of Fortunato Ortombina that from La Fenice he should arrive at La Scala as Dominique Meyer’s successor remains more than valid.
Waiting for the opinion of the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano
According to what we understand, everything was postponed by the proposal made to the councilors by the mayor Beppe Sala, who is also president of the foundation that controls the theater, to extend by one year – until 2026 – the Meyer’s mandate and the musical director Riccardo Chailly, both expiring in February 2025. the Board of Directors would have agreed with the proposal, without however proceeding to the vote. The Minister of Culture will also have to express his opinion on this, Gennaro Sangiuliano.
The twist that shocked the councilors: now the word to Minister Sangiuliano
The twist, or even more appropriate, the “coup de the’atre” during the Board of Directors meeting also stunned the councillors, who upon arriving at Piermarini had optimistically said “let’s hope” the appointment will be made today. On the other hand, in the last board of directors meeting on 11 March, it emerged that there was ‘full’ agreement between Sala and the minister of culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, on the name of Ortombina. So after these weeks of reflection today we were only waiting for the ratification of the appointment by the councilors. Instead, the proposal of the mayor and president Giuseppe Sala, to extend Meyer and Chailly until 2026, brings everything back to a standstill, at least until the minister of culture Gennaro Sangiuliano gives his opinion.
On the other hand, it was well known that Meyer enjoyed the support of the mayor who always recognized the work he did during the difficult years of the pandemic, managing to keep the accounts in order. As well as the satisfaction of the orchestra, which in a letter sent to the mayor of Sala and the Board of Directors a couple of weeks ago, had asked for the extension of the superintendent for two years, until 2027. More than one can be glimpsed on the horizon cloud: not only because of the minister’s desire to finally have an Italian superintendent, to interrupt twenty years of foreign leadership, but also because Dominique Meyer will turn 70 on 8 August 2025, exceeding the age limit threshold for the superintendents, wanted by Sangiuliano. If the obstacle is overcome, and the one-year extension digested, Fortunato Ortombina would arrive from La Fenice in Venice in 2026 in place of Meyer and Daniele Gatti (is the most insistent voice) from the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino on the Chailly podium.
Sources from the Ministry: “Sangiuliano respects the Scala board of directors but it was decided otherwise”
“The Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, is extremely respectful of the prerogatives of the board of directors of the Teatro alla Scala Foundation in Milan and above all of the history of this great cultural reality of the nation”: sources from the Ministry of Culture underline this, recalling that in the case of the superintendent , for which today a one-year extension was proposed to the board of directors, “a different decision was agreed upon”. “The minister has always had an excellent relationship of institutional collaboration with the mayor of the city, Giuseppe Sala, which – they assure from the MiC – he intends to safeguard, in particular in the name of the many common projects underway in Milan”. The legal question of the possible extension of the current superintendent is now being brought to the attention of the technical bodies of the ministry.