La Scala opera workers call for Muti to resign

An operatic feud at Milan’s La Scala came to a head Wednesday when hundreds of workers called for music director Riccardo Muti to resign from the house he has run with an iron baton for almost 20 years.

Backstage hands, bassoonists, baritones, ballerinas and others behind La Scala’s glamorous image added mutiny to the theatrical ego battles and offstage maneuvering that have shaken the famed opera house for weeks.

Workers have long criticized Muti, saying he ran La Scala as his private fiefdom, but temperatures have flared further since Muti got his way in a battle with former administrator Carlo Fontana, who was sacked three weeks ago.

“The workers from artists to technicians voted almost unanimously to call for Muti’s resignation for the first time,” said Nicola Cimmino, a representative of several unions involved in the dispute.

La Scala officials denied rumors that Muti already had resigned.