TEATRO ALLA SCALA

This mythical theatre, where the greatest names in the history of opera have performed, is one of the best opera houses in the world. The launch of its opera season every year on 7 December is one of the most important events on the Milanese cultural scene and one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year.

Since its inauguration in 1778, La Scala has propelled Milan to the forefront of European culture. Its strange name derives from the church of Santa Maria alla Scala, on whose foundations the building, consisting of the vast stage, the parterre and the avant-garde machinery, is built. It was built when, in 1776, the ducal theatre of the Palazzo Reale was destroyed by fire. The Milanese aristocracy then offered to finance the foundation of a new theatre to the Austrian government, in exchange for having their own box. Empress Maria Theresa agreed to the project, on condition that the court architect Giuseppe Piermarini was entrusted with the work. Two years later the theatre opened its doors. Its sober and elegant neoclassical facade does not hint at the splendour of the interior. The theatre, heavily damaged by the bombings of the Second World War, is now decorated in the red and gold of the 19th century. Renovated in 2004 after extensive work, La Scala welcomed back its audiences with the same opera as when it opened in the 18th century: Salieri'sEuropa Riconosciuta. The greatest conductors have come and gone, from Rossini in 1820 to Riccardo Chailly today.

La Scala can accommodate 2,800 spectators, while its horseshoe-shaped stage remains one of the largest in the world, even today. If you are unable to attend a performance, you will have the opportunity to see the auditorium during a visit to the museum (Museo Teatrale alla Scala) by entering one of the boxes. In the hemicycle, five floors of boxes (each originally decorated by its owner) are surmounted by two galleries where the cheapest seats are sold. This henhouse, in Italian piccionaia or loggione, is at the same time the place where the regulars meet, seasoned music lovers ready to whistle or to cover the performers, singers, dancers and musicians with "bravo". This audience of connoisseurs is well known in the opera world for being not stingy with its whistles, sometimes even making the singers leave the stage, as was the case with Roberto Alagna in 2006.