La Scala

New in Little ItalyI tend to think of Little Italy as a little piece of Baltimore that never changes, but obviously that's not so. Within the past six months or so, three new restaurants have opened: Antney's Bar and Grill, Il Porto and La Scala (where Raphael's used to be).The splashiest opening yet is scheduled for mid-May: Di Vivo's Pastries and Cafe at 801 Eastern Ave. It sounds modest, but Di Vivo's will be a full-scale Italian restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The new building should be a traffic stopper, with a glassed-in rotunda in front and a huge tree growing inside.

Gianandrea Gavazzeni, 86, composer, musician and a former artistic director of Milan's La Scala opera house, died yesterday at his home in northern Italy, his family said.Mr. Gavazzeni, who had been ill for several months, began his career as a pianist and composer and wrote copiously for 20 years. He began working with La Scala in 1948 and served as its artistic director from 1966-1968.He conducted all the greats in theaters throughout Italy and wrote guides to the operas of Mozart, Wagner and others.

Verdi, "Don Carlo." Performed by Ferruccio Furlanetto (Filippo II), Michael Sylvester (Don Carlo), Vladimir Chernov (Rodrigo), Samuel Ramey (Il Grande Inquisitore), Aprile Millo (Elisabetta di Valois), Dolora Zajick (La Principessa Eboli), and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, James Levine conducting (Sony Classical S3K 52 500). "Don Carlo." Performed by Samuel Ramey (Filippo II), Luciano Pavarotti (Don Carlo), Paolo Coni (Rodrigo), Alexander Anisimov (Il Grande Inquisitore), Daniela Dessi (Elisabetta di Valois)

John Field, 69, a former director of the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Theater Ballet companies, died Saturday in London of cancer. He also had been ballet director at La Scala. Born in Doncaster in northern England, he studied dancing in Liverpool and made his first appearances at the age of 17 with the Liverpool Ballet Club. At age 18 he joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet in London and took part in its first wartime tour before joining the Royal Air Force in 1942. After World War II, he rejoined Sadler's Wells and became one of its principal dancers, appearing with Margot Fonteyn and Beryl Grey.