On June 24, star conductor Riccardo Muti (80) performed the Verdi opera “Un ballo in maschera” (“A Masked Ball”) in Chicago and refused to remove a critical passage from the original. Some celebrate this statement as a sign against the unspeakable “cancellation culture” and the absurd spread of “political correctness”, others attack the 80-year-old as a spreader of racist relics.
The Neapolitan star conductor, including the Vienna New Year’s Concert and at the Salzburg Festival and bearer of the Great Gold Medal of Honor of the Republic of Austria, is currently causing a lot of controversy.
Most opera houses have removed the explosive passage
In the first act of the Verdi opera, there is a scene in which the chief judge demands a signature for the banishment of the fortune teller Ulrica, who according to him is “of the impure blood of N… (dell’immondo sangue dei negri) ) “. Most opera houses such as La Scala, the Met or Covent Garden have now deleted this explosive passage or reformulated it in a neutral way, but not Muti: “Giuseppe Verdi was not a racist, it is the racist attitude, the brutality and the ignorance of the judge to show ruthless,” he told the Italian newspaper “Corriere della Sera”.
Particularly exciting: this passage is sung by the dark tenor Lunga Eric Hallam, himself from South Africa. Muti: “I asked him if this bothered him or hurt him, after my explanation he said, ‘No problem, Maestro.'”
“Like walking on raw eggs”
The 80-year-old maestro, always a friend of clear words, clamors for the so-called cancel culture and the excesses of unreflected “political correctness”, which he perceives only as censorship: “We mainly import the negative things from the United States It’s like walking on raw eggs, you have to be careful what you say, any little reference, however vague, can make you suspicious, can be insulting and can be used against you I strongly oppose opera houses that use the change words in the librettos. We can no longer change our history, it must be preserved in its essence, for better or for worse, in its cruelty. So that the next generations can know about it. This is how we help young people.”
Censorship already existed then
By the way, it is interesting to read how times change: Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) had to move the action, which took place in 1790 at the Swedish court, to unsuspecting, colonial Boston (USA) because of massive censorship. The opera was performed in its original version at the Salzburg Festival in 1990. Maestro Herbert von Karajan staged the work, but died shortly before. Sir Georg Solti stepped in and took over the finished production that Karajan had worked out together with Hollywood director John Schlesinger. This version of “Un ballo in maschera” is still regularly available today.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
