Mozart, Muti, and the Movie Man

Mozart will be 250 years old in 2006, and plans are underway for a massive celebration at Milan’s famed La Scala opera house. Music director Riccardo Muti plans to mount a new production of the Austrian composer’s comic classic, Cosi Fan Tutte, with none other than Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar in charge of the staging. “Muti’s choice suggests a change of attitude by the maestro, who has been accused of trying to block attempts by the general manager of La Scala, Carlo Fontana, to popularise the repertoire.”