Offbeat | Gala evening at La Scala celebrates culture over extremism

The gala season premiere of Puccini’s “Tosca” starring Russian soprano Anna Netrebko and conducted by Riccardo Chailly received 15 minutes of applause from an audience of Milanese elite, in an evening that celebrated culture as a bulwark against political extremism.

For the second year, the performance opened with long applause for Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, sitting in the royal box with four government ministers. As last year, the Italian government is struggling, and the long applause was seen as a show of support for Italian institutions, which Mattarella represents in a non-partisan role.

After five minutes of clapping, Mattarella signaled for the audience to turn to the stage for the Italian anthem and the start of “Tosca.”

‘’When there is so much applause for Mattarella, like last year, it is to say that we believe in our constitution, that we believe in a single, indivisible Italy, and that we are a community that needs to grow and be open,’’ said stage director Davide Livermore, who also directed last year’s ‘’Attila.”

“There are too many strange things. There are too few politicians who have the courage to say fascism is against the law,’’ Livermore said.

The audience of Italian business, fashion, cultural and political VIPs included senator-for-life Liliana Segre, an Auschwitz survivor who was recently placed under armed escort due to anti-Semitic threats. The Milan native recalled coming to La Scala as a 16-year-old and said she has been a season-ticket holder for 30 years.

She said she loves “Tosca” for its passion, adding, “I wasn’t always 90 years old.”