La Scala: The Force of Destiny is the first documentary co-produced under a new partnership between RAI Documentari and France Télévisions – it will be given a theatrical release in France on 2 November.
The film follows the preparations for Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, which opened La Scala‘s 2024 season on 7 December.
The opening of La Scala’s opera season is always on 7 December, which is Milan’s Saint’s Day. Since 1951, it is the evening when much of the city moves to the rhythm of the event known as “La Prima”. The opera is filmed by Rai Cultura and broadcast live on Rai 1, the state broadcaster’s main television channel.
French director Anissa Bonnefont filmed soprano Anna Netrebko, baritone Ludovic Tézier, tenor Brian Jagde, the theatre’s musical director, Riccardo Chailly, and the stage director, Leo Muscato, along with the nine hundred artisans, dancers, musicians and technicians, capturing “the tensions, the stress, and the passion that span from the first meeting of the opera team all the way to the opening night of the season”.
The documentary, presented without a voice-over, drops in on rehearsals and meetings, the hair and makeup rooms, scene construction and costume making departments, and observes the arrival of the monied audience and the police keeping protestors at bay in the piazza outside the theatre.
“Having had the chance to film for several months at the heart of La Scala,” said Bonnefont, “and so close to these passionate, brilliant, and generous talents, was an extraordinary opportunity. The precision of the work in every department – the costumes, sets, props, the chorus, the choreography, and of course, the musicians, the attention to every detail of the opera… this incredible outpouring of energy, knowledge, and expertise dedicated to bringing Verdi’s work to life absolutely fascinated me.
“I saw in this a source of inspiration and joy that felt particularly essential today, at a time when so much focus is placed on artificial intelligence. I wanted to honor the intelligence of the true craft, and the artist’s way of seeing.”
All photos courtesy of Federation Studio France – MDE Films, 2025
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.