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Roberto Alagna: Fancy Man

Divo drama at La Scala:

[Tenor Roberto] Alanga had grown increasingly incensed on Sunday night during the second performance of Franco Zeffirelli’s extravagant production of Verdi’s opera [Aida], as his opening aria was met with a critical response from some sections of the audience. He suddenly stopped singing, glared angrily into the audience, threw off his Egyptian cloak and stormed out, refusing to finish his performance, as the audience at La Scala shouted: “Shame on you.”

Stephane Lissner, the general manager of the opera house in Milan, rushed down from his box to remonstrate with the tenor, but in vain.

Alagna’s understudy, Antonello Palombi, was hurried on stage to complete the act with no time to change out of his jeans and shirt. Before the third act, Mr Lissner apologised to the audience, and at the end Palombi earned nine minutes of applause.

From Milan to Manhattan, the operagoers are getting restless.

UPDATE: I just wanted to observe that “Divo drama at La Scala” is possibly the cleverest thing that has ever been written down.

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