Alexander Pereira To Be Named Teatro Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’s New Sovrintendente

By Nicole Kuchta

Alexander Pereira is expected to become the new Sovrintendente of Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

OperaWire reached out to the company’s press office, who confirmed the news with the following statement: “On September 6th, during the first meeting of the new Board of the Maggio, under the presidency of the Mayor of Florence Mr. Dario Nardella, Mr. Pereira will be announced to the members of the Board. As a consequence of their approval, the name of Mr. Pereira will be submitted to the Minister of Culture for the ratification of his nomination. We do think that Mr. Pereira will join the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino soon after the traditional opening of La Scala’s new season on December 7th.”

Pereira has served as Teatro alla Scala’s CEO and Artistic Director since Sept. 1, 2014. Prior to La Scala, he was the Artistic Director of the Salzburg Festival.

According to Corriere della Sera, Pereira was presented with three offers from abroad, each for a period of five years.

“The offer from Florence was particularly interesting for me,” Pereira stated. “Florence has a theatre with a great tradition. The choir and orchestra have been well cared for by Zubin Mehta and his successors for 20 years. Then, there was the element of the city and a part of my family that lives there. In Florence they have a season all year round, and a festival of international renown.

“So, I thought I could be the person with the right experience to honor this commitment. Being able to imagine and dream a five-year project is different from devoting one and a half years to the closure of an existing experience.”

However, Pereira does regret having to leave Milan.

“I was hoping to finish my career at La Scala,” he shared. He cites a member of the Supervisory Board that has “been fighting [me] from the first day of [my] term” as the reason his contract is not to be extended.

He plans to stay through the run of “Tosca,” which will star Anna Netrebko, Francesco Meli, and Luca Salsi. His contract officially expires in February.

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