ROME (AP) — The Dec. 7 season premiere at Milan's La Scala opera house, a gala event that is one of Italy's cultural highlights, is being canceled after a rash of COVID-19 infections among musicians and chorus members.
The theater's board of directors concluded Wednesday that the status of the pandemic and Italy's virus-control measures, which include the closure of theaters, did not allow for "achieving a production open to the public and of the level and with the characteristics required" for the premiere.
"Lucia di Lammermoor" had been on the program for the season's opening. La Scala said the scheduled opening night performance and the shows set for the following days have been postponed.
READ MORE: At this Virginia theater, the show — and the masks — must go on
Politicians, business figures and other VIPs traditionally turn out for La Scala's season premiere, an official holiday in Milan.
The opera house reported a week ago that its entire orchestra had been told to quarantine after nine musicians tested positive for the coronavirus. The chorus was put under an earlier quarantine after 18 singers were confirmed to be infected.
A government decree issued last month to battle a surge in COVID-19 infections shut down Italy's theaters, cinemas and concert halls for a few weeks. Starting Thursday, Italian museums will also have to close their doors, at least until Dec. 2.
Sustain our coverage of culture, arts and literature.
John Leguizamo has appeared in more than 100 films while also telling a distinctly Latino story in documentaries, one-man shows…
In death, Leonard Cohen is having a rebirth. The legendary singer is being remembered by older and younger generations alike…
Alec Baldwin's Western "Rust" had its world premiere Wednesday at a film festival in Poland, three years after the shooting…
In her new collection of columns from The Wall Street Journal, Pulitzer Prize-winner Peggy Noonan takes readers on a journey…
If you've ever wanted to own a piece of Hollywood history, now's your chance. A pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers…
When Centurion was founded, it was the first group of its kind working to overturn wrongful convictions for people facing…
As major American museums reexamine their collections to ensure diversity and inclusion, there's a growing realization that they need more…
As a dancer, choreographer, director and speaker, Jamison's distinguished career leaped over barriers of race and gender.
In the 1980s, about 70 percent of clothes sold in the U.S. were made in the country. Today, it's down…
This is her first time receiving nominations in the country and Americana categories.
For many Muslim and Arab Americans, Israel's wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and the wider Middle East are personal, and so…
A giant in the music and entertainment industry has died. Quincy Jones, known to many as 'Q,' was revered as…
Jones rose from music school dropout to the very heights of show business, becoming one of the first Black executives…
Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on "Saturday Night Live" in the final days before the presidential election, playing herself…
