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 … [Read more...] about La Scala, Milan: Opera and Recital Season 2019 – 2020
Mattia Olivieri
La Scala, Milan: Opera and Recital Season 2018 – 2019
OPERA SEASON 2018 - 2019 La Scala announced its 2018-2019 Opera season today with 15 titles, nine of which are new productions, and two are La Scala premieres. At the heart of the season remains the Italian repertoire, continuing with the cycle of works of Verdi, Puccini, Verismo (which will return in 2020 with Giordano’s Fedora and Montemezzi’s L’amore dei tre re), and the … [Read more...] about La Scala, Milan: Opera and Recital Season 2018 – 2019
Photo Album: First look at La Scala’s new Don Pasquale
Davide Livermore's new production of Don Pasquale for Teatro alla Scala opens tomorrow night, 3 April, and the premiere will be live broadcast on RAI-Radio 3. The performance on 19 April will be broadcast live on RAI 5 TV and in cinemas worldwide. Riccardo Chailly conducts a cast led by Ambrogio Maestri as Don Pasquale, Rosa Feola as Norina, René Barbera is Ernesto … [Read more...] about Photo Album: First look at La Scala’s new Don Pasquale
La Scala, Milan: Opera and Recital Season 2017 – 2018
A pleasing new season at La Scala seems to tick all the right boxes, with half the programming dedicated to the Italian repertoire, some rarities, important international operas and a world premiere. The season will also mark the 40th Anniversary of Riccardo Chailly’s collaboration with the theatre, and the 95th birthday of Franco Zeffirelli. The 2017-2018 Season kicks … [Read more...] about La Scala, Milan: Opera and Recital Season 2017 – 2018
Robert Carsen’s jewel of a Don Giovanni sparkles again at La Scala
Robert Carsen created a jewel of a production for La Scala when he mounted a new Don Giovanni for the opening of the opera season in 2011. It is now being seen for the first time since then, and it is glorious both in the no-expense-spared staging and the wealth of ideas that Carsen brings, without ever being gimmicky. It thrills from the beginning when Thomas Hampson, as Don … [Read more...] about Robert Carsen’s jewel of a Don Giovanni sparkles again at La Scala
Photo album and cast of Don Giovanni at La Scala
Robert Carsen’s spectacular production for La Scala of Don Giovanni created for the opening of the opera season in 2011, started a ten-performance run last night, which ends on 6 June. The Financial Times review opened with, No coup de théâtre ever matched Mozart’s opening chords as stunningly as this. This is a welcome return. Daniel Barenboim saw over a cast that … [Read more...] about Photo album and cast of Don Giovanni at La Scala
La Scala Opera Season 2016-2017 – full dates and casts
Ballet Season 2016-2017 Recital and Concert Season 2016-2017 The new season opens with another step along the path of Riccardo Chailly’s Puccini Project, Madama Butterfly, which will be directed by Alvis Hermanis (Die Soldaten and I due Foscari at La Scala) with Maria José Siri as Butterfly and Bryan Hymel as Pinkerton. It will use the original version of the opera … [Read more...] about La Scala Opera Season 2016-2017 – full dates and casts
A deep vein of sincere sentiment in ‘L’elisir d’amore’ at La Scala
Tullio Pericoli’s designs for L’Elisir d’amore, currently at La Scala in Milan, recall the Osbert Lancaster sets for The Royal Ballet’s La fille mal gardée. Both men worked as illustrators for newspapers and their designs give the sensation of being inside a children’s book illustration. Franco Zeffirelli imitated the style for a production of La fille du regiment… it must be … [Read more...] about A deep vein of sincere sentiment in ‘L’elisir d’amore’ at La Scala
The perfect Bohème at La Scala… magisterial, stunning!
La Scala’s La bohème has been a constant presence in the theatre’s programming after more than half a century and now edges towards its 240th performance. The 1963 production by Franco Zeffirelli is stunning in its cinematic realism and sepia tint, his use of crowds is magisterial, the comedy perfectly nuanced, and the tragedy rips through to the heart. This is everything that … [Read more...] about The perfect Bohème at La Scala… magisterial, stunning!