La Scala, Milan: Opera and Recital Season 2019 – 2020
After Riccardo Chailly opens the season with Tosca, continuing the cycle of works by Puccini, he will conduct his first Strauss opera, as well as the complete Beethoven symphonies. Zubin Mehta will conduct two Verdi operas as well as Luigi Nonno’s Intolleranza which will be performed at La Scala for the first time. Handel’s Semele will also receive its first staged performance at the theatre. There are fifteen operas in the 2019-2020 season, of which eleven are new productions.
Anna Netrebko will open the season in Tosca on 7 December, but strangely the tenor has not yet been confirmed. Backstage voices say that the Russian diva is pressing for her husband, Yusif Eyvazov, to be given the role.
After the popularity over the last couple of years, the opening night of the season will again be transmitted live on Italy’s main television channel, Rai1.
The recital series, listed below, features Matthias Goerne, Erwin Schrott, Aleksandra Kurzak, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Bejun Mehta, Marina Rebeka, and Sabine Devieilhe.
OPERA SEASON 2019-2020
4 December 2019 Young People’s Preview
7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22 December 2019; 2, 5, 8 January 2020
Giacomo Puccini
TOSCA
Conductor Riccardo Chailly
Director Davide Livermore
Sets Giò Forma
Costumes Gianluca Falaschi
Lighting Antonio Castro
Cast
Tosca Anna Netrebko / Saioa Hernández (2, 5, 8 Jan.), Cavaradossi (to be announced),
Scarpia Luca Salsi, Angelotti Vladimir Sazdovski, Sagrestano Alfonso Antoniozzi,
Spoletta Carlo Bosi, Sciarrone Giulio Mastrototaro
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala
15, 18, 21, 26, 30 January; 2, 13, 16 February 2020
Charles Gounod
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE
Conductor Lorenzo Viotti
Director Bartlett Sher
Sets Michael Yeargan
Costumes Catherine Zuber
Lighting Jennifer Tipton
Cast
Juliette Diana Damrau, Roméo Vittorio Grigolo,
Frère Laurent Nicolas Testé, Mercutio Mattia Olivieri, Stéphano Marina Viotti,
Le Comte Capulet Frédéric Caton, Tybalt Ruzil Gatin, Gertrude Sara Mingardo,
Le Comte Paris Edwin Fardini, Le Duc Jean-Vincent Blot
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
Production from The Metropolitan Opera, New York
6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 23, 26, 29 February; 6 March 2020
Giuseppe Verdi
IL TROVATORE
Conductor Nicola Luisotti
Director and Set Design Alvis Hermanis
Costumes Eva Dessecker
Lighting Gleb Filshtinsky
Video Designer Ineta Sipunova
Cast
Leonora Liudmyla Monastyrska, Manrico Francesco Meli,
Il conte di Luna Massimo Cavalletti, Azucena Violeta Urmana,
Ferrando Gianluca Buratto/Riccardo Fassi
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala (co-production Salzburger Festspiele)
22, 25, 28 February; 4, 13, 15, 17, 19 March 2020
Gioachino Rossini
IL TURCO IN ITALIA
Conductor Diego Fasolis
Director Roberto Andò
Sets and Lighting Gianni Carluccio
Costumes Nanà Cecchi
Cast
Selim Alex Esposito, Donna Fiorilla Rosa Feola, Don Narciso Edgardo Rocha,
Prosdocimo Mattia Olivieri, Don Geronio Giulio Mastrototaro,
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala
8, 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 27, 31 March 2020
Richard Strauss
SALOME
Conductor Riccardo Chailly
Director Damiano Michieletto
Sets Paolo Fantin
Costumes Carla Teti
Lighting Alessandro Carletti
Choreography Thomas Wilhelm
Cast
Salome Malin Byström, Herodes Roberto Saccà, Herodias Anna Maria Chiuri,
Jochanaan Michael Volle, Narraboth Attilio Glaser, Nazarener Thomas Tatzl
Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala
4, 7, 10, 14, 18, 21, 24 April 2020
Claude Debussy
PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE
Conductor Daniele Gatti
Director Matthias Hartmann
Sets Volker Hintermeier
Cast
Pelléas Bernard Richter, Mélisande Patricia Petibon, Golaud Markus Werba,
Arkel Nicolas Testé, Geneviève Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo,
Le petite Yniold Caterina Sala, Un medecin/Berger Vladimir Sazdovski
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala
23, 26, 30 April; 3, 7, 10, 24, 27 May 2020
Richard Wagner
TANNHÄUSER
Conductor Ádám Fischer
Director Carlus Padrissa / La Fura dels Baus
Sets Roland Olberter
Costumes Chu Uroz
Video Designer Franc Aleu
Cast
Tannhäuser Peter Seiffert, Elisabeth Krassimira Stoyanova / Dorothea Röschmann (24, 27 May),
Wolfram von Eschenbach Christian Gerhaher / Markus Werba (24, 27 May),
Walter von der Vogelweide Martin Piskorski, Venus Daniela Sindram, Hermann Albert Dohmen,
Biterolf Florian Spiess, Heinrich der Schreiber Sascha Emanuel Kramer,
Reinmar von Zweter Chi Hoon Lee
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
Produzione Teatro alla Scala
17, 20, 23, 26, 29 May; 4, 10 June 2020
Italo Montemezzi
L’AMORE DEI TRE RE
Conductor Carlo Rizzi
Director Àlex Ollé / La Fura dels Baus
Sets Alfons Flores
Costumes Lluc Castells
Lighting Marco Filibeck
Cast
Archibaldo Ferruccio Furlanetto, Manfredo Roberto Frontali, Avito Giorgio Berrugi,
Fiora Federica Lombardi, Flaminio Giorgio Misseri
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala
3, 6, 9, 13, 17, 22, 25, 30 June 2020
Umberto Giordano
FEDORA
Conductor Daniel Oren
Director Mario Martone
Sets Margherita Palli
Costumes Ursula Patzak
Lighting Pasquale Mari
Cast
Fedora Sonya Yoncheva, Loris Roberto Alagna,
Olga Mariangela Sicilia, De Siriex Massimo Cavalletti, Barone Rouvelle Marco Ciaponi,
Boroff Costantino Finucci, Grech Vladimir Sazdovski
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala
20, 23, 26 June; 2, 7, 10, 13, 16 July 2020
Giuseppe Verdi
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA
Conductor Zubin Mehta
Director Gabriele Salvatores
Sets Gian Maurizio Fercioni
Cast
Riccardo Fabio Sartori, Amelia Saioa Hernández, Renato Luca Salsi,
Ulrica Violeta Urmana, Oscar Julie Martin Du Theil,
Silvano Liviu Holender, Samuel Fabrizio Beggi, Tom Emanuele Cordaro
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala
11, 14 July 2020;
12, 14, 17, 20, 22, 25 November 2020
Giuseppe Verdi
LA TRAVIATA
Conductor Zubin Mehta / Michele Gamba
Director Liliana Cavani
Sets Dante Ferretti
Costumes Gabriella Pescucci
Lighting Marco Filibeck
Choreography Micha van Hoecke
Cast
Violetta Valéry Marina Rebeka (11, 14 July) / Angel Blue,
Alfredo Germont Francesco Meli (11, 14 July) / Charles Castronovo,
Giorgio Germont Leo Nucci (11, 14 July) / Plácido Domingo (12, 14 Nov.) /
George Petean (17, 20, 22, 25 Nov.)
Chorus, Orchestra and Ballet Company of Teatro alla Scala
Produzione Teatro alla Scala
1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 22, 25 September 2020
La Scala Accademia Project
Gioachino Rossini
IL VIAGGIO A REIMS
Conductor Paolo Carignani
Director Luca Ronconi
Sets Gae Aulenti
Costumes Giovanna Buzzi
Lighting Marco Filibeck
Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala Academy
Production Rossini Opera Festival di Pesaro and Teatro alla Scala
17, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 30 October 2020
Georg Friedrich Händel
SEMELE
Conductor Gianluca Capuano
Director Robert Carsen
Sets e Costumes Patrick Kinmonth
Lighting Robert Carsen e Peter van Praet
Coreografia Philippe Giraudeau
Cast
Semele Cecilia Bartoli, Jupiter/Apollo Ian Bostridge,
Athamas Max Emanuel Cencic, Juno Sara Mingardo
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala
29, 31 October; 2, 4, 8, 11 November 2020
Arnold Schönberg
ERWARTUNG
The Woman Camilla Nylund
Luigi Nono
INTOLLERANZA 1960
Cast
Un emigrante Giorgio Berrugi, La sua compagna Camilla Nylund,
Una donna Anna Maria Chiuri, Un algerino Simone Piazzola, Un torturato Dario Russo
Conductor Zubin Mehta
Director Damiano Michieletto
Sets Paolo Fantin
Costumes Carla Teti
Lighting Alessandro Carletti
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala
10, 13, 18, 21, 24, 27, 29 November 2020
Amilcare Ponchielli
LA GIOCONDA
Conductor Ádám Fischer
Director Davide Livermore
Sets Giò Forma
Costumes Mariana Fracasso
Cast
La Gioconda Saioa Hernández, Laura Adorno Daniela Barcellona,
Enzo Grimaldo Francesco Meli, Barnaba Luca Salsi, Alvise Badoero Roberto Tagliavini,
La cieca Judit Kutasi, Zuane Fabrizio Beggi
Chorus, Orchestra and Ballet Company of Teatro alla Scala
New Production Teatro alla Scala
Recital Season
3 December 2019
Matthias Goerne
Piano
Leif Ove Andsnes
Schumann
26 January 2020
Erwin Schrott
Piano
Giulio Zappa
23 February 2020
Aleksandra Kurzak
Piano
Julius Drake
Viola
Tomasz Wabnic
Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Strauss
15 March 2020
Ekaterina Semenchuk
Piano
Semion Skigin
Glinka and Musorgsky
19 April 2020
Bejun Mehta
Piano
Jonathan Ware
Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Britten, and Mahler
27 October 2020
Marina Rebeka
Piano
Giulio Zappa
Rachmaninov, Bellini, and Verdi
9 November 2020
Sabine Devieilhe
Piano
Alexandre Tharaud
Debussy, Poulenc, Fauré, and Ravel
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
Just “Oh My God” what an amazing looking season. I think I’ll come and see the great Cecilia Bartoli in Semele. I love her dexterous beautiful sound and of course I love Handel’s Semele.