June 5th 2016 has been circled in red sharpie on the calendar of many a music lover for months. A historical event will be taking place in two days in Milan<\/strong>: Riccardo Muti will be making his return to La Scala<\/strong> after over a decade of bitterness following his abrupt departure in 2005. The celebrated maestro will not, for the time being, resume his post on the podium of the most famous opera theatre in the world. In fact, his return will not be to the actual theatre, but to La Scala’s museum, for an exhibition celebrating his 19-year-long tenure as musical director of the celebrated institution<\/strong>. The exhibition will be a tribute to Riccardo Muti on his 75th birthday and it is rumoured by many to be but the first step on the path of reconciliation. The mere suggestion of Muti’s going back to La Scala, even for a single concert, if not for a whole opera, is enough to send any music lover into a frenzy. La Scala’s artistic director Alexander Pereira has recently been quoted to say that a single concert would not be enough for such a personality, thereby igniting the hopes of thousands of devoted fans. The exhibition, curated by Lorenzo Arruga, will be an audiovisual journey through Muti’s residence at La Scala<\/strong>. The theatre’s library has been lined with black tulle, to serve as a canvas on which the maestro’s unique experience will be subdivided into sections. Each room will be dedicated to a composer or an aspect of Muti’s work, with plenty of photos, videos and recordings<\/strong>. The first room will be entirely dedicated to Mozart<\/strong>, with video testimonies of historical opera productions conducted by Muti, from the popular Da Ponte trilogy (Le Nozze Di Figaro<\/em>, Cos\u00ec Fan Tutte<\/em> and Don Giovanni<\/em>) to The Magic Flute<\/em>. Mozart has long been one of the maestro’s favourite composers. Verdi<\/strong> was equally relevant in Muti’s career and in particular during\u00a0his time at La Scala. Videos and memorabilia from the maestro’s most celebrated productions of the Italian composer make up the theme for the second room of the exhibition. The third room focuses on Wagner<\/strong>‘s works and the fourth on the classical belcanto repertoire<\/strong> and the musical masterpieces of composers such as Paisiello<\/strong>, Spontini<\/strong> and Gluck<\/strong>. The visitors will be following this thematic path, ending in photographs from Muti’s production of Salieri’s L’Europa Riconosciuta, the unusual choice with which Muti chose to celebrate La Scala’s return to its first home in the square by the same name, after being moved to the newly constructed Teatro degli Arcimboldi in the late 90s, as the original theatre was undergoing restoration. This exhibition aims at offering a significant overview of Muti’s personality and human experience, bridging the gap between the audience and what is often perceived to be an imposing and forbidding character.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\nThe exhibition<\/h3>\n
Riccardo Muti and La Scala<\/h3>\n