Stabbed opera director 'happy to be alive'
mainClaudio del Monaco, who underwent emergency surgery on Wednesday after being attacked with a breadknife, has been telling visitors to his hospital bed in Treviso of his lucky escape. Claudio, 64, received four stab wounds to the chest. His wife Daniela, 35, was found wandering in a daze on a nearby beach. She is being held in a psychiatric unit. ‘If I hadn’t escaped, I would have been slaughtered,’ Claudio told his cousin.
According to Corriere del Veneto, the couple were in difficult financial circumstances.
The good news is that Claudio appears to be out of danger.
I’m relieved that Mr. del Monaco is due to recover, but the story reads like a scene from a bold new operatic production that combines Tosca with Wozzeck.