And What Was This Year’s Drama At La Scala’s Opening Night?

“It looked like the first night of La Scala’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Joan of Arc had gone off without a hitch.” But no. On a backstage audio recording later broadcast on national radio, “‘I’m here, congratulations maestro, really congratulations,’ Leiser can be heard saying in English. After a pause, he then screams ‘asshole’.”