Programming: Risk and Commitment for the Future

When Stéphane Lissner decided to stage Franco Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac at La Scala in Milan for the 2007–08 season, he chose an Italian opera that had sunk into oblivion since its creation in 1936, but which he helped to revive with the New York Metropolitan Opera and the London Royal Opera House in a co-production directed by Francesca Zambello and starring Placido Domingo in the title role. This decision was in line with the principles clearly declared by La Scala’s Sovrintendente: to programme at least 50 per cent of Italian operas and bring together world-famous artists (conductors, singers, directors) to return today’s La Scala to its past heights of quality. It was a risky decision, but the risk was limited in several ways. This was a co-production with two of the greatest opera houses, Francesca Zambello’s productions are successful all over the world, Patrick Fournillier is one of the most sought-after guest conductors and, essentially, Placido Domingo was in the cast. He may well have been the originator of the idea. He was a triumph in the role, demonstrating acting and singing talents still unequalled by many younger tenors. The press coverage reflected the success of the venture. In the words of a London critic, “The opera stands or falls on the performance of the tenor singing Cyrano, and in this respect Domingo is the production’s greatest asset….It isn’t a great opera, but it was a great performance where it mattered — the title role!” And in Milan one commentator wrote, “Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac is an expressive, at times jarringly sad masterpiece, which we can all thank Maestro Domingo for exhuming from obscurity.” The opera was a sellout in all three theatres. The Théâtre du Châtelet staged the same opera in Paris in May 2009, also with Placido Domingo and Patrick Fournillier, but in a production staged by Petrika Ionesco and a partnership with the Spanish Province of Navarre and its Symphonic Orchestra.