Fosca (opera) Fosca (opera) Fosca is an opera seria in four acts by Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Gomes to an Italian-language libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni based on 's 1869 novel "La festa delle Marie". The opera premiered at La Scala in Milan on February 16, 1873. It was a failure because of a dispute between lovers of bel canto and supporters of Wagnerian music-drama. Gomes revised it in 1877, and the premiere of the new version (this time described as a melodramma) on February 7, 1878, also at La Scala, was a success. Since then, performances of the opera, mostly in Brazil,
La Scala citing "hostility" from staff members. In May 2005, Stéphane Lissner, formerly head of the Aix-en-Provence Festival, was appointed General Manager and Artistic Director of La Scala, becoming the first non-Italian in its history to hold the office. On 15 May 2006, Daniel Barenboim was named "Maestro Scaligero", or "de facto" principal guest conductor, of the company. In October 2011, Barenboim was appointed the next music director of La Scala, effective December 2011, with an initial contract of 5 years. In December 2013, management named Riccardo Chailly the next music director of La Scala, effective 1 January 2015. Stéphane Lissner left