Italian Fortunato Ortombina succeeds Frenchman Dominique Meyer as director of La Scala in Milan

The musicians of the Milan Scala Orchestra had requested the extension for two years of the French Dominique Meyer at the head of the establishment, but the Meloni government preferred to support the appointment of an Italian, Fortunato Ortombina, director of the Fenice.

The director of La Fenice in Venice, Fortunato Ortombina, 63, whose candidacy was pushed by the Meloni government, was appointed director of La Scala in Milan on Tuesday April 16, following tight negotiations between Rome and the administrators. of the opera.

The Italian Fortunato Ortombina, who has directed the Venice Opera since 2017, one of the highlights of Italian cultural life, will succeed the Frenchman Dominique Meyer, 68, who has been in office for almost four years. Fortunato Ortombina thus marks his big return to La Scala, where he was from 2003 to 2007 coordinator of artistic direction. He was appointed artistic director of the Fenice in Venice in 2007 before taking charge ten years later.

Takeover of public service

For a year, however, the two men will work alongside each other: Fortunato Ortombina will take up his functions from September 2024 and Dominique Meyer will keep them until August 2025, said Giuseppe Sala, mayor of Milan and president of the board of directors of La Scala. . “We did everything for the good of La Scala, with dignity and correctness”he commented after the board meeting approving these changes.

Dominique Meyer arrived at the helm of La Scala in 2020, after having directed the Vienna Opera for ten years. The musical director of La Scala, Riccardo Chailly, 71, whose current mandate also expires in February 2025, has seen his functions extended until 2026. The succession at the head of La Scala, an establishment “of national interest”had caused a stir, against the backdrop of the takeover of the public cultural service by the right-wing and far-right government of Giorgia Meloni.

“Encourage rotation”

Fortunato Ortombina was proposed as Dominique Meyer’s successor following a meeting at the beginning of March between Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano and Giuseppe Sala. His appointment was, however, delayed because several members of the board of directors had suggested, during their last meeting convened on April 8, to extend the mandates of Dominique Meyer and Riccardo Chailly for one year.

But the government vetoed it: “A mandate has a deadline, precisely to encourage rotation and renewal”, immediately replied the Undersecretary for Culture, Gianmarco Mazzi. Last May, the Meloni government set the age limit for lyric theater directors at 70, thus effectively preventing the reappointment of Dominique Meyer, who will reach it in August 2025.

The musicians of the Scala Orchestra had requested at the end of March in vain a two-year extension of Dominique Meyer’s contract, highlighting his “valuable artistic journey”. A journey recognized by Gennaro Sangiuliano and Giuseppe Sala who noted, in a joint press release, “his admirable commitment and total dedication to the service of La Scala which, under his leadership, has achieved extraordinary results, including from an organizational and financial point of view.”