Outcry over Saudi moves on La Scala

ONE of Italy’s major cultural events of the year is the opening of the season at the Teatro alla Scala opera house in Milan.

Those who attend the spectacle are usually people of influence. But in December, nobody was paying much attention to a rare guest: Saudi Arabian Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah.

Three months later, there is an outcry throughout the land amid news that Saudi Arabia aims to invest millions in the world-famous opera house.

In return, the Saudis want a seat on its supervisory board.

After the news came out, a strange thing happened in Italy: for once, politicians both left and right agreed about something. They say that an ultra-conservative state which just recently allegedly dispatched an execution squad to murder journalist Jamal Khashoggi should have nothing to do with one of Italy’s foremost cultural institutions.

The biggest scandal is that the oil-rich kingdom wants to use its wealth to immediately “purchase” its way on to the supervisory board and thereby establish its legitimacy. Saudi Arabia said it would invest e15million (R243m) in La Scala over the next five years.

Meanwhile in the Saudi capital Riyadh, a conservatorium for children is to be opened, and thought is being given to staging Verdi’s La Traviata.

La Scala’s Austrian director, Alexander Pereira, cannot understand what the fuss is all about. It is a positive sign when a country which for 40 years had been closed to culture now starts to open up, he told La Repubblica newspaper. He said he had followed the Khashoggi case and was well aware of the “despotic” nature of the Saudi regime. But he was convinced of the “positive power of music” and said if La Scala did not accept the money, someone else would - France.

On March 18, La Scala’s supervisory board is to meet in Milan, when a decision on the Saudi offer is expected. The question then becomes what is demanded in return. Saudi Arabia’s aim, with its financial infusion in La Scala, may be to polish up its international image, tarnished by the monarchy’s human rights violations.

The ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia has been undergoing a cultural opening-up ever since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has risen to become the most powerful man in the kingdom. After decades, cinemas have once again been permitted, and with large sums of money international stars have been lured to the country.

Last year, Saudis celebrated performers such as Black Eyed Peas and Enrique Iglesias in Riyadh. dpa