Riccardo Muti’s departure from La Scala was a long time coming. He maintained artistic standards in the opera house, but elsewhere in Italy opera is in decline. “Artistic standards have plummeted. With so many jobs to fill, orchestras and choruses are enfeebled. Most of the great voice teachers long ago emigrated to the richer pastures of American campuses, and the quality of native singing is now in terminal decline. Against such corruption and mediocrity, Muti has resolutely set his face. Like all dictators, he ultimately overestimated his own power and allowed his ego to get the better of his judgment. But La Scala will be hard pushed to find a successor – Riccardo Chailly? Daniele Gatti? – to match his charisma and idealism.”