In August 1943, Milan was bombed by Allied planes. On the night between 15 and 16 August the city centre and the Teatro alla Scala were seriously damaged. A photographic exhibition, La Scala Reborn … [Read more...] about Milan celebrates 80th Anniversary of La Scala’s reopening after devastating World War II bombing
Arturo Toscanini
Review: La Scala triple bill – a five-star performance from Gioacchino Starace in Béjart’s Boléro
Graham Spicer sees Harald Lander’s Études, Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort, and Maurice Béjart's Boléro at La Scala. TitleTrittico Lander / Kylián / BéjartCompanyLa Scala BalletVenueTeatro alla Scala, … [Read more...] about Review: La Scala triple bill – a five-star performance from Gioacchino Starace in Béjart’s Boléro
La Scala presents its Opera Season 2025-2026
The Opera Season 2025-2026 opens with a harsh, stark opera that “assaults the viewer, tightening them in a knot of violence and despair”. Written by Shostakovich in 1934 and inspired by Leskov’s … [Read more...] about La Scala presents its Opera Season 2025-2026
Elisabetta Riva becomes new CEO of Bologna’s opera house
Elisabetta Riva will be the new Superintendent of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, with effect from 23 April 2025. Riva was born in Monza, Lombardy, in 1973 and since 2013 she has directed the … [Read more...] about Elisabetta Riva becomes new CEO of Bologna’s opera house
Walter Venditti, former primo ballerino at La Scala, dies at 95
Walter Venditti, a well-loved figure in Italy's ballet world, died yesterday morning. He was 95. To accompany a series of photos I took of him teaching at his ballet school when he was 84, I … [Read more...] about Walter Venditti, former primo ballerino at La Scala, dies at 95
La Scala announces its 2024-2025 Opera Season
La Scala in Milan has announced it's opera programming for the 2024-2025 season. The inaugural title of the 2024-2025 season, La forza del destino – one of Verdi’s most important and complex works – … [Read more...] about La Scala announces its 2024-2025 Opera Season
Premiere of Don Carlo at La Scala – the numbers, the announcements, the protestations, and the photos
Last night’s season opening at La Scala in Milan saw the box office return to its pre-pandemic levels, and a healthy number of viewers on the national television’s first channel, Rai1. Before … [Read more...] about Premiere of Don Carlo at La Scala – the numbers, the announcements, the protestations, and the photos
Maria Callas at 100 – Milan mounts 2 months of events to celebrate
From 1 November to 31 December 2023, Milan will dedicate a programme of events for Callas 100, to mark the centenary of the great soprano's birth on 2 December. Maria Callas (1923 - 1977) during … [Read more...] about Maria Callas at 100 – Milan mounts 2 months of events to celebrate
La Scala Opera Season 2023-2024
The 2023-2024 Opera Season of the Teatro alla Scala will present 14 productions, 10 of which are new: 2 operas by Giuseppe Verdi and 2 by Giacomo Puccini, and one opera each by Antonio Cesti, Luigi … [Read more...] about La Scala Opera Season 2023-2024
Franco Zeffirelli – The La Scala Years: an exhibition in Milan
Franco Zeffirelli was born in Florence on 12 January 1923. Teatro alla Scala anticipates the celebration of the great director's centenary with the exhibition “Franco Zeffirelli - The La Scala Years" … [Read more...] about Franco Zeffirelli – The La Scala Years: an exhibition in Milan
Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy ruffles La Scala’s feathers
On the same day that La Scala opened its doors for a preview performance of the new production of Macbeth that will open its season on 7 December, the Prada Foundation in Milan welcomed Riccardo Muti … [Read more...] about Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy ruffles La Scala’s feathers
Prima Verdi – tenor Francesco Meli’s solo recording debut
Prima Verdi is tenor Francesco Meli’s solo recording debut. He is accompanied by the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted by Marco Armiliato. Meli says, This album is a … [Read more...] about Prima Verdi – tenor Francesco Meli’s solo recording debut
Interview with La Scala intendant, Dominique Meyer: Green Passes and opening up
I would like to know [how many at La Scala] are vaccinated, but the law on privacy does not allow us to know who is vaccinated and who isn’t. So, at a dress rehearsal, when someone sings without a … [Read more...] about Interview with La Scala intendant, Dominique Meyer: Green Passes and opening up
A tram for Carla Fracci – tributes and honours
A week ago today, Carla Fracci’s funeral was televised live on RAI1, Italy’s main television channel. The day of her death, Thursday 27 May 2021, television schedules were immediately revised and her … [Read more...] about A tram for Carla Fracci – tributes and honours
Sparks fly at La Scala between conductors Muti and Chailly
Riccardo vs Riccardo. One is the theatre's former music director Riccardo Muti, who last night concluded the Vienna Philharmonic's mini Italian tour at La Scala on the 75th anniversary of the … [Read more...] about Sparks fly at La Scala between conductors Muti and Chailly
Concert to mark 75th anniversary of La Scala’s reopening [streaming]
Yesterday, after 199 days, La Scala reopened its doors to the public with a concert by its Orchestra and Chorus. 500 spectators (normal capacity, 2,000) occupied the boxes and galleries with the … [Read more...] about Concert to mark 75th anniversary of La Scala’s reopening [streaming]
Federico Longhi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Q&A When did you start singing? When I was 6, in the chorus of my hometown in the Valle d’Aosta. A lady in my parish, Rita, invited me to sing and I was so happy... I looked forward to the … [Read more...] about Federico Longhi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Singers’ Edition
Remembering the conductor Tullio Serafin, fifty years after his death
Fifty years ago today, on 3 October 1968, Tullio Serafin died in Rome. In a long career he conducted singers from Caruso to Pavarotti. He was born near Venice in 1878, but when he was 11 the family … [Read more...] about Remembering the conductor Tullio Serafin, fifty years after his death
Soprano Frances Alda: arguing with Toscanini, a debut at La Scala, Chaliapin’s hairy chest, and Caruso at the Met
Frances Alda (1879 – 1952) was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised operatic soprano. She was one of the world's most celebrated singers during the first three decades of the 20th century and was a … [Read more...] about Soprano Frances Alda: arguing with Toscanini, a debut at La Scala, Chaliapin’s hairy chest, and Caruso at the Met
Newly restored photos from the La Scala Archive of Victor de Sabata with Callas, Tebaldi, Toscanini, Olivier
La Scala remembers the great conductor Victor de Sabata with an exhibition in the theatre foyer (which opens tomorrow, Sunday 12 November) and Riccardo Chailly has chosen to dedicate Andrea Chénier to … [Read more...] about Newly restored photos from the La Scala Archive of Victor de Sabata with Callas, Tebaldi, Toscanini, Olivier
Founder of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, violinist Bronislaw Huberman, died 70 years ago today
Seventy years ago, on 16 June 1947, virtuoso violinist Bronislaw Huberman died at 64. He founded the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra by bringing Jewish musicians from Nazi Europe to Palestine, giving … [Read more...] about Founder of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, violinist Bronislaw Huberman, died 70 years ago today
Toscanini was born 150 years ago today… a quick summing up of a man and his career
Arturo Toscanini is the epitome of what a conductor should be according to the mass imagination. Like Caruso and Callas, his fame went beyond the concert halls, past the record-buyers and radio … [Read more...] about Toscanini was born 150 years ago today… a quick summing up of a man and his career
Daniel Barenboim on ‘his’ Fidelio at La Scala
The opening of La Scala's season on 7 December each year is the most anticipated and often contested event in the international opera calendar. Daniel Barenboim opens the 2014-2015 Opera and Ballet … [Read more...] about Daniel Barenboim on ‘his’ Fidelio at La Scala
La Scala pays tribute to Magda Olivero who has died at 104
Theatrical to the last, the great soprano Magda Olivero died on the day of La Scala's opening performance after the summer break. Before Maria Agresta's recital a beautifully worded tribute to … [Read more...] about La Scala pays tribute to Magda Olivero who has died at 104
Sanquirico, designer of Norma and Anna Bolena, finally rests among the greats
The Wikipedia entry on Italian painter and designer Alessandro Sanquirico reads: Alessandro Sanquirico (Milan, July 27, 1777 – Milan, March 12, 1849) was an Italian scenic designer, architect, and … [Read more...] about Sanquirico, designer of Norma and Anna Bolena, finally rests among the greats
Adolphe Appia at La Scala: a new publication by the Amici della Scala
The Amici della Scala (Friends of La Scala) was formed in 1978 to promote music, art and culture in Milan and the Lombardy region, though the La Scala opera house is the focus of their … [Read more...] about Adolphe Appia at La Scala: a new publication by the Amici della Scala
Juan Diego Florez talks about his fairy-tale wedding, his fans, and being lazy
On the eve of Juan Diego Florez's Albert Hall concert, The Sunday Times sent a journalist to his home in Pesaro. This beautiful town on Italy's east coast - home to the Rossini Opera Festival, and … [Read more...] about Juan Diego Florez talks about his fairy-tale wedding, his fans, and being lazy
Italian theatre designer Luisa Spinatelli is honoured at La Scala
Last night in the glamorous foyer of the La Scala Theatre (Ridotto dei Palchi 'Arturo Toscanini') the Amici della Scala awarded an Honorary Membership of the society to Italian theatre designer Luisa … [Read more...] about Italian theatre designer Luisa Spinatelli is honoured at La Scala