Chung Myung-Whun to become next music director of La Scala in 2027, first Asian to hold the position

Conductor Chung Myung-hun (72) has been selected as the music director of La Scala, the world-famous opera house in Milan, Italy.
This will be the first time that a person has been appointed as music director. La Scala announced this on its website on the 12th. Zheng will take over as music director from 2027, succeeding Riccardo Chailly.
La Scala, which opened in 1778, has a long tradition as a prestigious opera house. It is one of the "three greatest opera houses in the world," along with the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and the Royal Opera House in London.
The La Scala Theater is known as the "Pela Theater," and is a stage that vocalists from all over the world aspire to perform on. Regarding Chung, the La Scala Theater said, "For many years, Maestro Chung Myung-hoon has been a member of the La Scala Orchestra, Chorus, and Maestro.
"He has built a close relationship with the La Scala Philharmonic, of which he was the first to be appointed honorary conductor in 2016," the release said. "The enthusiastic response to the concerts on March 17, 19, and 21 was clear.
"As such, he is one of the artists most beloved by Milan audiences and one of the conductors who has contributed most to La Scala's international reputation."
He also said, "Following in the footsteps of Carlo Maria Giulini, the mentor who led the Filarmonica's first overseas tour.
"Maestro Jeong Myung-hoon successfully completed La Scala's most recent international opera tour with Verdi's 'Simon Boccanegra' at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 2016," he said.
"Chung has been the driving force behind the success of the La Scala Milan season and tour since 1989, and a new Asian orchestra tour is expected to be announced soon," the theater said.
He has conducted a total of 84 operas and 141 concerts to date, the most of any person except for those who have served as official music directors.
While he is known as a leading interpreter of Verdi's works, he has also worked on works by Dmitri Shostakovich (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, 1992), Richard Strauss (Piano, 1996), and many others.
(Salome, 1995), Giacomo Puccini (Madame Butterfly, 2007), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Idomeneo, 2009), Giuseppe Verde
He has made his presence felt at La Scala, working on a wide range of productions, including La Scala's Simon Boccanegra in 2016 and Simon Boccanegra in 2018.
Chung, who is considered "the greatest living conductor," has conducted symposiums at the Paris National Orchestra,
He has served as Music Director of the Pella Concert Hall, the Santa Cecilia Conservatory Orchestra in Rome, and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. In recent years, he has been the Music Director of the Busan Concert Hall and the soon-to-be
He has also been appointed music director of the Busan Opera House, which will soon open.