Italian opera house La Scala: Riccardo Chailly to replace Barenboim as musical director

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In this undated picture provided Saturday Dec. 7, 2013 by La Scala press office, Polish tenor Piotr Beczala, in the role of Alfrendo, right, and Serb baritone Zeljko Lucic, in the role of Giorgio, perform during a rehearsal of the second act of Giuseppe Verdi\'s "La Traviata", conducted by Daniele Gatti. La Scala opens Saturday the 2013-2014 season with "La Traviata," marking the conclusion of the bicentennial celebrations of Giuseppe Verdi\'s birth. (AP Photo/Brescia Amisano, Courtesy of La Scala, ho)

MILAN – The famed Milanese opera house La Scala has confirmed that Riccardo Chailly will be its new musical director, replacing Daniel Barenboim.

La Scala said in an email Tuesday that Chailly, a 60-year-old Milan-born conductor, will be La Scala’s principal conductor from 2015 before becoming musical director in 2017.

One of the world’s premier opera houses, La Scala is going through an artistic and managerial transition. General manager Stephane Lissner just oversaw his last gala premiere, “La Traviata,” on Saturday ahead of his summer departure for the Paris Opera. He is being replaced by Alexander Pereira, an Austrian who has said he wanted an Italian to be musical director.

Barenboim, 71, joined La Scala with the unofficial title of principal guest conductor in 2006 before becoming musical director in December 2011.

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