Liège or La Scala? – Part 3: Hot! Hot! Hot!
by Mark Montgomery
“I can’t see the libretto” says Ernest Hemmingway 2.0. He is right. After our intermission drink, he took up a free seat next to me. Row D has pros and cons. The positive point is that it is just two rows from the orchestra pit. It offers an unparalleled view of the stage. On the downside – it is so far forward that it is virtually directly underneath the monitor that shows the libretto. The monitor, with translation, is very useful because the performance tonight is delivered in old Czech. To benefit from the translation, one must lean back quite a bit. This could be considered as only a minor inconvenience. However, it is not possible to read the running translation and watch the performance being unveiled on the stage at the same time.
When you do get a gander at the monitor, you may be surprised to note that the subtitles are in French, Dutch, German and in English. Some find this curious. Liège is proudly French speaking. The only other language that you might hear from the locals is our Walloon dialect. So why do we consider it normal to provide multilingual subtitles? The answer lies in Geography and in Generosity.
The city of Liège occupies an advantageous home, tucked into a three-nation corner. The frontiers of Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium converge no more than 60 km from our town square. The neighbouring cities of Maastricht (the Netherlands) and Aachen (Germany) are closer to Liège than is our own capital city of Brussels.
Liège – Cité Ardente
Maria Callas
It is quite usual for us to welcome guests and fellow music lovers from these two sister cities. Liège has a population of 700,000. Aachen is smaller. It has a population of 250,000. Maastricht is the smallest of the sibling cities. It boasts a population of 130,000. Why is it important to mention this? It is important to note that because of our geography, the Opera Royal de Wallonie serves a catchment area similar in size to that of La Scala. The population size of Milan is about 1,320,000 – broadly similar to that of our catchment area.
Liège is known by its nickname. La Cité Ardente! The HOT city. Now, this works two ways. The Liège temperament is often described as “Soupe au Lait” This means that the natives can be as placid as a bowl of milk one moment, and then incandescently scalding, like a piping hot bowl of soup the next.
The secondary meaning is that we are a warm and welcoming people. We are open to guests. ALL guests! If you come from Germany, we will welcome you in YOUR language. If you come to us from The Netherlands, we will welcome you in YOUR language. If you come to us from elsewhere, we will welcome you in English. It is therefore no surprise that the translation of the libretto is displayed in multiple languages. This is how we do it in Liège – La Cité Ardente. We are Hot! Hot! Hot! There is a glaring parallel between the pulsating passion of Liège and the equally ardent aficionados at La Scala.
Performing at Teatro la Scala has earned the terrifying reputation of being “The Baptism by Fire”. In its early days, the La Scala theatre was lit by thousands of candles. This provided both heat and light. These however were not the only hot spots in the theatre. The seating arrangement at the theatre included rows of seats, high up in the balustrades. These Loggionne” were reserved for the less wealthy spectators. To equate less wealthy with less discerning would be a monumental mistake. La Loggionne was created to expand the popular appeal of this artform.
Time would attest that it was to be vital to impress this section of the house. These patrons were impecunious but powerful. If a performance did not meet their exacting standards, they would erupt into unfettered booing. La Loggionne was no respecter of persons. Maria Callas endured their Baptism of Fire. In 1961, when she was losing her voice, she performed Medea at La Scala and was booed by the audience.
Luciano Pavarotti fell prey to the same fate. In 1992, the great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti was opening the opera season at La Scala, Milan, with a production of Verdi’s Don Carlos. The President of Italy was in attendance. The production went swimmingly until the second act. The tenor’s voice cracked on a high B. The Loggionisti booed him when he took his bow. In 2006, tenor Roberto Alagna was booed off the stage during a performance of Verdi’s Aïda.
The Historic Centre of Liège
Luciano Pavarotti
With unceremonious alacrity, his understudy was forced to replace him. The switch was so abrupt that his mid-scene replacement came on stage without time to change into a costume.
The La Scala public is every bit as Hot! Hot! Hot! as the Liègeois. La Loggionne is as “soup au lait” as we are in Liège! So, is La Scala better than the Opera Royal of Wallonie? I have made a pretence of being objective. I am not. Liège is my city and my region. I am an ardent supporter of the Opera Royal de Wallonie.
“Well, good evening to you” I bid farewell to Liège’s answer to Ernest Hemmingway.
“Bonsoir Mark” he turns his collar to the cold and damp. He can now light his pipe. Then he turns on his heel. “Our opera house is less well known than our Milan opposite number. They are probably better at some things than we are.”
“Yes, I think you are right”
“We are undoubtedly better than they are at some things. But the base metal truth is that a performance at the Opera Royal de Wallonie should be on the To Do list of every music lover.”
