Lothar Wallerstein 1882-1949

An opera director acclaimed by the most eminent theatres, he moved from one country to another to escape Nazism and continue working. A native of Prague, resident in Vienna, where he was Oberregisseur of the Staatsoper, from 1930 he began working at La Scala and in other Italian theatres: it is the least known phase of his activity, yet very significant. He had a beautiful house built on the Apuan coast, a refuge for himself and his family from anti-Semitism. But it was better to emigrate a second time: he was awaited at the Met in New York and at the Opera House in Chicago. After the war, as an American citizen with an impressive knowledge of six languages, he returned to work in Europe and in Italy.