MUSIC

Many Italian opera critics thought they heard a strange whirring sound on Wednesday night: Early 19th-Century composer Giacchino Rossini turning in his grave during the premiere at Milan’s La Scala of a controversial new production of his opera “William Tell.” What critics especially objected to was director Luca Ronconi’s mix of opera and cinema, which involved all the opera’s action played out against a backdrop of film of the Swiss Alps. Ronconi was whistled at the end of Wednesday’s performance to shouts of “What happened to Rossini?” from the gallery. Even Italian Senate President Giovanni Spadolini got into the act, telling one Milan newspaper: “I don’t think it corresponds to the concept of opera. It’s very scenic but I don’t how how much it suits Rossini.”