Exile

Once confined by war to the New World it was inevitable that, although Toscanini took no formal position in any of the various Italian émigré organisations, he should become an active figurehead of Italy in exile. Among other activities he drafted a Declaration published in Life magazine in September 1943 containing proposals for the future governance of Italy, which insisted on the need for the complete territorial integrity of the country and for future negotiations to be conducted with authorities untainted by association with fascism. The Allies later ignored these demands with material consequences for the course of this narrative: in the timing of his return to his native country and in his visits to other countries that failed his tests. Mussolini's overthrow in July 1943, announced during an NBC Verdi concert on 25 July, saw him on stage clasping his hands and gazing heavenwards in thanksgiving, while in Milan La Scala's signboards were covered overnight with calls for his return. There were, however, grave impediments to overcome, even after cessation of hostilities. La Scala was partly devastated by Allied bombs; as a consequence of his personal influence, actively exercised, post-war Italy pursued its rebuilding as a priority. But in Toscanini's mind more substantial obstacles lay in Allied policy, which permitted negotiations with the monarch and others tainted by the defeated régime; to return in such circumstances would have compromised his principles, publicly stated in his Life Declaration. The situation changed only in February 1946, when Italy's post-war government announced a June referendum on the abolition of the monarchy.