Riccardo Muti fell on his baton and resigned from La Scala yesterday, ending his 19-year reign at Milan's glittering opera house after a bitter battle for power.

The famously hot-tempered conductor said he had no choice but to leave after workers and musicians cried mutiny and went on strike, forcing La Scala to cancel several performances.

Muti is hailed as one of the world's great conductors but is also widely criticised for running La Scala as his own private fiefdom and holding back innovation at a theatre which staged the first nights of many of Giuseppe Verdi's best-loved works.

His obsession with integrity stands out in a country whose rich musical heritage of Monteverdi masses and soaring Bellini arias have been reduced to syrupy ballad festivals.

But it was also part of his downfall. Muti had long argued with administrator Carlo Fontana, who wanted to open La Scala to more people with easier works like 20th century musicals. The bad blood almost brought La Scala to a halt and Fontana was sacked this year to break the deadlock.

But La Scala's workers backed Fontana and were furious at the dismissal. From sopranos to stagehands, they demanded Muti and his hand-picked new administrator Mauro Meli leave.