A strike by 800 workers of La Scala opera house has forced the cancellation of a second performance of Verdi’s “Requiem” conducted by principal visiting conductor Daniel Barenboim, officials said Thursday.

In any strike, it’s always the culture that takes it on the chin. Our question: Who will chirp up for the concert-goers?

UPDATE: The Onion has the man-on-the-street interviews on the stagehand strike. Key thought:

“That’s a pretty weird tactic. Why not just drop a beam on an actor while he’s performing? Someone should have thought a little harder about this.”