Italy's La Scala Says Canceling Russian Opera 'Boris Godunov' Would Mean Punishing Culture

(@FahadShabbir)

Italy's La Scala Says Canceling Russian Opera 'Boris Godunov' Would Mean Punishing Culture

Riccardo Chailly, music director of Milan's La Scala theater, said on Saturday that the cancellation of "Boris Godunov," an opera by prominent Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, would mean punishing culture

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2022) Riccardo Chailly, music director of Milan's La Scala theater, said on Saturday that the cancellation of "Boris Godunov," an opera by prominent Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, would mean punishing culture.

Earlier in the week, Consul General of Ukraine in Milan Andrii Kartysh urged the city and theater authorities to cancel the staging of the Russian opera, which is expected to kick off La Scala's new season in December.

"To remove a masterpiece that ends with the madness and death of the king is to punish the culture. Our idea is to combine 'Macbeth' with 'Boris,' linking them to an abuse of power that absorbs and leads to madness. Do we want to cancel Shakespeare?" Chailly said, as quoted by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

A new production of Giuseppe Verdi's "Macbeth," which premiered at La Scala in December, will be performed in the new season as well.

According to Chailly, art should not pay for the "chaos that has been happening since February 24."

La Scala's leadership is dissatisfied with the appeal of the Ukrainian diplomat, and some of its representatives consider the request unacceptable, the report said.

In June, La Scala announced that "Boris Godunov" would open the next season on December 7. Kartysh said that the Ukrainian community in Italy took the theater's decision with "great disappointment and regret."