UK conductor faces legal action from Italian opera house

Chorus members at Teatro San Carlo in Naples have instructed lawyers to take action for defamation against the English conductor Ed Gardner, who recently told the Times newspaper that the opera chorus was ‘made up of two mafia families’.

The lawyers say: ‘The Teatro San Carlo, recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, represents a pillar of Italian and European culture. Unfounded attacks such as these risk compromising the credibility and future of an institution that has contributed significantly to the diffusion of art and music for centuries’.

Gardner, 50, is principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and former music director of English National Opera.

More here.

UPDATE: Conductor apologises.