Battistelli's CO₂ at La Scala: a challenging truth

By James Imam, 25 May 2015

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“Our heads were sent spinning through the sheer disconnected breadth and volume of the material”

Reviewed at Teatro alla Scala, Milan on 22 May 2015

Battistelli, CO2 (World première, commissioned by Teatro alla Scala)

Teatro alla Scala

Cornelius Meister, Conductor

Robert Carsen, Director

Petra Reinhardt, Costume Designer

Paul Steinberg, Set Designer

Pumeza Matshikiza, Eve

Anthony Michaels-Moore, David Adamson

David DQ Lee, Serpent

Orla Boylan, Archangel Gabriel, Mrs Mason

Jennifer Johnston, Gaia

Ta'u Pupu'a, Mr. Changtalay

Alessandro Spina, Archangel Michael

Alain Coulombe, Archangel Uriel

Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala

Romeo Castellucci directs a new Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 26th April

The Italian director makes his long-awaited Italian operatic debut at the Teatro alla Scala in a production which perfectly mirrors Debussy’s most enigmatic creation.

****1

Diamonds and steel: Anna Pirozzi rules in La Scala’s Turandot revival

Laura Servidei, 12th April

Visually enchanting and meticulously staged, this centenary revival confirms Livermore's production as a modern classic.

****1

The Ring returns to the Rhine: Götterdämmerung at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 1st February

Under Alexander Soddy’s powerful conducting and Sir David McVicar’s dark, evocative staging, the Ring finds a searing conclusion, anchored by a powerful Brünnhilde from Camilla Nylund, as the world burns.

*****

Shostakovitch’s Lady Macbeth conquers La Scala on opening night

Laura Servidei, 7th December

Shostakovich's brutal tale of sex, murder and madness storms La Scala's opening night, with Riccardo Chailly leading his final season premiere as Music Director.

****1

The game of love: Robert Carsen’s new Così fan tutte at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 8th November

Alexander Soddy leads a great cast in a clever, supremely entertaining new production in Milan.

****1

Pelly’s iconic Fille du régiment retains its charm at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 17th October

Julie Fuchs and Juan Diego Flórez give life to the refreshing and funny take of Laurent Pelly’s classic production, under the baton of Evelino Pidò.

****1

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James Imam

James Imam is an arts journalist writing for publications including The Financial Times, The Times, Musical America and Opera magazine. He grew up in Manchester, read anthropology at Cambridge and has since lived in Milan. As a once-aspiring countertenor he has an abiding interest in Baroque music.

CO₂ at La Scala: a challenging truth by Giorgio Battistelli