Alexander Pereira: Giorgio’s great passion for opera and our great friendship

Dear Giorgio,

Even before I first came to La Scala Opera House, some Austrian friends of mine told me that there was somebody special in Milan called Giorgio Squinzi. A man with a big heart who loved opera and was full of bursting enthusiasm for the theatre. When I came to La Scala and met you for the very first time, I thought about what they had told me and that serene look on your face, your laugh and the way you carried your “heart in your hand” (as they say in Vienna and also Milan), touched me instantly.

I knew straight away that our friendship would be extremely important for the Opera House. I will never forget you telling me that your father took you to La Scala for the first time on 2^nd January 1954. Maria Callas was singing Cherubini’s Médée conducted by Leonard Bernstein and that was the start of a passion that lasted your entire lifetime. Personally, I will never forget one evening in 1956 when my mother took me to listen to Maria Callas in Vienna performing Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor conducted by Herbert von Karajan. A production that originally came from La Scala. When we first began thinking about and discussing La Scala Opera House and your experiences in this theatre, I knew you would be the right man for the Board of Directors. The theatre already had plenty of reasons for thanking you, including your generosity in contributing money and materials for the major renovation project on the building undertaken in partnership with Milan City Council based on a project designed by the architect Mario Botta. That was another reason why I was embarrassed to ask for your financial support in joining the Board, but I knew your contribution to the theatre would go way beyond just money, and having you alongside me was crucial in many decisions I made, as well as an opportunity to get to know you better personally.

So, I got the chance to know you better right at the time when you fell ill, and you showed everybody that your optimism, kindness and love of life were stronger than the fear and pain you must have endured over these last few years. I might even dare to say I became quite friendly with you, and you are certainly one of the very few true friends I have had over the last few years and I consider that to be a great gift: one of those friendships that rarely form except during childhood. Today I promise you that for the rest of my life I will show the same kind of affection and attention to your family that you showed to me.

Thank you for everything.