MILAN (AP) – The La Scala opera house will open its 2016-17 season with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” as it emphasizes the Italian repertoire under principal conductor Riccardo Chailly.
Nine of the 15 operas announced Wednesday for next season are by Italian composers, including four by Verdi and two by Puccini. German-language works make up the rest.
Chailly, who becomes the opera house’s musical director next January, will conduct the traditional Dec. 7 gala season-opener with a production that was so hotly contested on its 1904 world premiere at La Scala that it hasn’t been staged there since.
La Scala General Manager Pereira said the depiction of a suicide was too audacious for the times, but now La Scala is determined to show “this masterpiece in the version as Puccini wanted it.”