From NRO readers, you can learn just about everything. I’ve always thought that, and nothing has dissuaded me. The below note refers to Al gran sole carico d’amore, the stage work by Luigi Nono. He wrote it in the mid-1970s, when he was a member of the Central Committee of the Italian CP. The work is a meditation on, and hymn to, Communism, basically.

Hi, Jay,
Your mention of Al gran sole in Impromptus really took me back. I was principal trumpet of the La Scala Orchestra when the work was premiered. A cursory search on the Internet has yet to show that the opera was not staged at La Scala at all, but in another facility in Milan (I don’t remember which). It was my understanding that this was because of concerns that the opera house might be damaged by vandals or bombers. Certainly someone had the jitters, so for every rehearsal and show all cast and orchestra members had to pass through security, getting instrument cases checked, etc. This never happened at La Scala. [Maestro Claudio] Abbado (who hired me from the Curtis Institute) conducted all performances, which I remember mainly for very loud brass parts and very loud choruses. I was glad when the run ended.

Maybe we’ll hear from the principal viola next?