Rome mayor says Riccardo Muti agrees to lead city’s opera house

Rome says Muti to lead its opera house

ROME — Riccardo Muti has agreed to lead Rome’s opera house as the Italian capital tries to raise its music profile in a country where Milan’s La Scala dominates the field, the city’s mayor said.

“Maestro Muti will be the director” of Rome’s Opera theater, Mayor Gianni Alemanno said in an interview on state TV Wednesday. “We in Rome want excellence, and in the case of lyric opera, we’ve succeeded. Muti’s with us.”

A City Hall announcement said the Italian conductor had accepted pending review of “technical” details.

Muti will continue to be the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director while assuming the helm in Rome starting in December 2010, the city said.

The mayor met with Muti in Austria to work out the deal, the city statement said.

Rome’s opera scene is overshadowed by La Scala opera house in Milan, but Alemanno said he wants to raise Rome’s profile.

Muti last year signed on to be Chicago Symphony conductor for five years starting in 2010-2011.