80 years of opera and ballet costumes from La Scala go on display

La sonnambula, costume design for Amina by Piero Tosi, 1955

La sonnambula, 1955, costume by Tosi, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

La sonnambula, 1955, Maria Callas, photo by Piccagliani

The theatrical costume is a paradox: it hides, yet at the same time, communicates revealing aspects of a character; it is made to be seen from afar, yet the designers and costume makers care for the tiniest details, even if invisible. Each costume contains thousands of secrets, from colour combining to decoration, from the choice of a fabric to the technique to create a form. And behind the various techniques that make it possible, the resulting creation has precise aesthetic choices, decisions on taste, hints at the spirit of time, in addition to the imagination and the particular eye of each costume designer.

Oedipus Rex, 1969, Marilyn Horne, costume by Pierluigi Pizzi, photo by Piccagliani

Oedipus Rex, 1969, costume by Pizzi, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

Oedipus Rex, detail, 1969, costume by Pizzi, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

Twenty-four costumes that have been seen on the stage of La Scala over the past 80 years can be viewed at Palazzo Reale in Milan until the end of January 2018 in an exhibition curated by Vittoria Crespi Morbio. The exhibition celebrates forty years of the Amici della Scala, an association that provides events and publications illustrating and commenting on the theatre's productions and its history.

Salome, 1987, design by Gianni Versace

Salome, detail, 1987, costume by Versace, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

Monserrat Caballé in Salomé, costume by Gianni Versace, photo Lelli e Masotti 1987

The costumes are examples of the work of some of the most important names to have worked in the theatre. Caramba, from the Toscanini years, Franco Zeffirelli, Anna Anni, and Oscar winners Piero Tosi, Gabriella Pescucci and Franca Squarciapino. There's Pier Luigi Pizzi, the fashion designers Gianni Versace and Karl Lagerfeld, and others.

Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria, costume for Penelope by Piero Zuffi, 1964

Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria, 1964, costume by Zuffi, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria, 1964, Irene Companeez, costume by Piero Zuffi, photo by Piccagliani

These costumes were made for productions by the likes of Luchino Visconti, Giorgio Strehler, Luca Ronconi, Liliana Cavani, Robert Wilson and Robert Carsen, and worn by Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Carla Fracci, Rudolf Nureyev, Boris Christoff, and so on.

Idomeneo, design by Odette Nicoletti for Idamante, 1990

Idomeneo, 1990, costume by Odette Nicoletti for Idamante, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

Idomeneo, 1990, costume by Nicoletti, photo by Lelli e Masotti

The exhibition is laid out in four sections:

From ‘30s to the ‘60s
Tradition: Alexandre and Nicola Benois, Lila De Nobili, Franco Zeffirelli, Piero Tosi.
Divas: Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi.

From the ‘60s to the ‘80s
The period costume and research.
Dance: Rudolf Nureyev and Carla Fracci.

The ‘80s
The fashion designers.
I costume designers of Giorgio Strehler and Luca Ronconi.

From the ‘90s to today
Costumes for Liliana Cavani, Robert Wilson, Robert Carsen.
The ballet.

La fille mal gardée, 1987, costume by Spinatelli, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

La fille mal gardée, detail, 1987, costume by Spinatelli, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

La fille mal gardée, 1987, Carla Fracci, costumes by Luisa Spinatelli

The oldest exhibit is the costume of Isabella in L'Italiana in Algieri, created by Caramba (Luigi Sapelli) in 1933. One of Karl Lagerfeld's costumes for Luca Ronconi's production of Les Troyens and Gianni Versace's costume for Montserrat Caballé in Robert Wilson's Salome are included. There is Franco Zeffirelli's costume for Maria Callas as Donna Fiorilla in Il Turco in Italia in 1955, as well as her costume by Piero Tosi for La sonnambula the same year. Alexandre Benois is represented by his design for Renata Tebaldi as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin in 1954, and his son Nicola Benois with a creation for Boris Christoff as Boris Godunov.

Ballet costumes include the Prince/Drosselmeyer costume worn by Rudolf Nureyev for his 1969 production of The Nutcracker and Luisa Spinatelli's 1987 design for Carla Fracci in La Fille Mal Gardée.

Maurizio Millenotti's sculpted costumes for the stepmother and stepsisters in Mauro Bigonzetti's 2015 production of Cinderella are the most recent in the collection.

Les Troyens, costume for Dido by Karl Lagerfeld, 1981

Les Troyens, 1982, costume by Lagerfeld, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

Les Troyens, detail, 1982, costume by Lagerfeld, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

Many of the costumes after years in storage have been restored by Atelier Brancato, and the Restauro Tessile Lombardo worked on the costumes from Aida, Eugene Onegin, and La sonnambula.

Incantesimi. I costumi del Teatro alla Scala dagli anni Trenta a oggi

Milan, Palazzo Reale, 10 ottobre 2017 – 28 gennaio 2018

Entrance free.

La traviata, design by Gabriella Pescucci for Violetta, 1990

La traviata, 1990, costume by Pescucci, photo by Francesco M. Colombo

La traviata, 1990, Roberto Alagna and Tiziana Fabbricini in costumes by Pescucci, photo by Lelli e Masotti

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.