Tenor Jonas Kaufmann Says La Scala Head Alexander Pereira Is "the Right Man" for Milan's Opera House

Jonas Kaufmann has had his bouts with the flu recently, but his latest endorsement of La Scala head honcho Alexander Pereira has proven well enough to stir up some controversy.

With even the biggest houses around the globe cutting back, it's no wonder that a great leader in contemporary opera is stretching out to buttress one of the most significant administrative cornerstones.

Kaufmann, in an interview with Corriere della Sera says, "I think Alexander Pereira is the right man for La Scala."

He added, "[Pereira] loves tra­di­tion. In Ger­many, where the most extreme pro­duc­tions are to be found, he is con­sidered a con­ser­vat­ive."

And as Norman Lebrecht at Slipped Disc notes, Kaufmann's endorsement could not have come at a better time, what with the mayor of Milan having accused Pereira of leaving a "clean sheet" at Salzburg.

For more, albeit translated, information, Gramilano has the full scoop.

Here's Kaufmann's in his latest triumph, Werther, at the Met.

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