La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was

Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian composer and teacher of the classical period (music), classical period. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subje ...

's ''

Europa riconosciuta ''Europa riconosciuta'' (; meaning "Europa revealed" or "Europa recognized") is an opera in two acts by Antonio Salieri, designated as a ''dramma per musica'', set to an Italian libretto by Mattia Verazi. The opera takes place in Tyre, Lebanon, T ...

''. Most of Italy's greatest operatic artists, and many of the finest singers from around the world, have appeared at La Scala. The theatre is regarded as being one of the leading opera and ballet theatres globally. It is home to the La Scala Theatre Chorus, La Scala Theatre Ballet, La Scala Theatre Orchestra, and the Filarmonica della Scala orchestra. The theatre also has an associate school, known as the La Scala Theatre Academy (), which offers professional training in music, dance, stagecraft, and stage management.

Overview

La Scala's season opens on 7 December,

Saint Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

's Day, the feast day of Milan's

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

. All performances must end before midnight and long operas start earlier in the evening when necessary. The Museo Teatrale alla Scala (La Scala Theatre Museum), accessible from the theatre's foyer and a part of the house, contains a collection of paintings, drafts, statues, costumes, and other documents regarding the history of La Scala and of opera in general. La Scala also hosts the Accademia d'Arti e Mestieri dello Spettacolo (Academy for the Performing Arts). Its goal is to train a new generation of young musicians, technical staff, and dancers (at the Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala, one of the academy's divisions). Above the boxes, La Scala has a gallery—called the ''loggione''—where the less wealthy can watch the performances. The gallery is typically crowded with the most critical opera aficionados, known as the loggionisti, who can be ecstatic or merciless towards singers' perceived successes or failures. For their failures, artists receive a " baptism of fire" from these aficionados, and fiascos are long remembered. For example, in 2006, tenor Roberto Alagna left the stage after being booed during a performance of '' Aida'', forcing his

understudy In theatre, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

, Antonello Palombi, to quickly replace him mid-scene without time to change into a costume. Alagna did not return to the production.

History

A fire destroyed the previous theatre, the Teatro Regio Ducale, on 25 February 1776, after a

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

gala. A group of ninety wealthy Milanese, who owned private boxes in the theatre, wrote to Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este asking for a new theatre and a provisional one to be used while completing the new one. The neoclassical architect Giuseppe Piermarini produced an initial design. However, it was rejected by Count Firmian (the governor of the then Austrian

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

). A second plan was accepted in 1776 by Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

. The new theatre was built on the former location of the church of Santa Maria della Scala, from which the theatre gets its name. The church was deconsecrated and demolished. Over a period of two years, the theatre was completed by Pietro Marliani, Pietro Nosetti, and Antonio and Giuseppe Fe. The theatre had a total of "3,000 or so" seats organized into 678 pit-stalls, arranged in six tiers of boxes above which is the 'loggione' or two galleries. Its stage is one of the largest in Italy (16.15m d x 20.4m w x 26m h). Building expenses were covered by the sale of boxes, which were lavishly decorated by their owners, impressing observers such as Stendhal. La Scala (as it came to be known) soon became the preeminent meeting place for noble and wealthy Milanese people. In the tradition of the times, the main floor had no chairs, and spectators watched the shows standing up. The orchestra was in full sight, as the orchestra pit had not yet been built. As with most of the theatres at that time, La Scala was also a

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

, with gamblers sitting in the foyer. Conditions in the auditorium, too, could be frustrating for the opera lover, as

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

discovered in September 1840:

At the Opera they were giving Otto Nicolai's '' Templario''. Unfortunately, as is well known, the theatre of La Scala serves, not only as the universal drawing-room for all the society of Milan but every sort of trading transaction, from horse-dealing to stock-jobbing, is carried on in the pit; so that brief and far between are the snatches of melody one can catch.

La Scala was originally illuminated with 84 oil lamps mounted on the stage and another thousand in the rest of the theatre. To reduce the risks of fire, several rooms were filled with hundreds of water buckets. In time, oil lamps were replaced by gas lamps; these, in turn, were replaced by electric lights in 1883. Milano Teatro alla Scala Postkarte 001

The original structure was renovated in 1907 when it was given its current layout with 1,987 seats. In 1943, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, La Scala was severely damaged by

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

. It was rebuilt and reopened on 11 May 1946, with a memorable concert conducted by

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...

—twice La Scala's principal conductor and an associate of the composers

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

and

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

—with a soprano solo by Renata Tebaldi, which created a sensation. La Scala hosted the first productions of many famous operas and had a special relationship with Verdi. However, for several years, Verdi did not allow his work to be played here, as some of his music had been modified (he said "corrupted") by the orchestra. This dispute originated in a disagreement over the production of his ''

Giovanna d'Arco ''Giovanna d'Arco'' (''Joan of Arc'') is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, who had prepared the libretti for ''Nabucco'' and ''I Lombardi''. It is Verd ...

'' in 1845; however, the composer later conducted his '' Requiem'' there on 25 May 1874. He announced in 1886 that La Scala would host the premiere of what was to become his penultimate opera, ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

''. The premiere of his last opera, '' Falstaff'' was also given in the theatre.

Filarmonica della Scala

In 1982, the Filarmonica della Scala orchestra was established to develop a symphonic repertoire to add to La Scala's operatic tradition, the orchestra drawing its members from the larger pool of musicians that comprise the Orchestra della Scala. The Filarmonica was conducted first by Carlo Maria Giulini, then by

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the ...

, plus many collaborative relations with some of the greatest conductors of the time.

Recent developments

1950s

As early as 1958 R. Vermeulen of Philips Electronics experimented with "loudspeakers for stereo reverberation" at La Scala, which were "concealed in the cove along the ceiling".

Major renovation, 2002 to 2004

The theatre underwent a major renovation from early 2002 to late 2004. The theatre closed following the traditional 7 December 2001 season-opening performances of ''Otello'', which ran through December. From 19 January 2002 to November 2004, the opera company transferred to the new Teatro degli Arcimboldi, built in the Pirelli-Bicocca industrial area from the city center. Teatro alla Scala interior Milan

The renovation by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Mario Botta proved controversial, as preservationists feared that historic details would be lost. However, the opera company was satisfied with the improvements to the structure and the sound quality, which was enhanced when the heavy red carpets in the hall were removed. The stage was entirely rebuilt, and an enlarged backstage allows more sets to be stored, permitting more productions. Seats now include monitors for the electronic libretto system provided by Radio Marconi, an Italian company, allowing audiences to follow opera libretti in English and Italian in addition to the original language. The opera house re-opened on 7 December 2004 with a production, conducted by

, of Salieri's ''

'', the opera performed at La Scala's inauguration in 1778. Tickets for the re-opening fetched up to €2,000. The renovations cost a reported €61 million and left a budget shortfall that the opera house overcame in 2006.

2005 onward

Carlo Fontana, the general manager of La Scala since 1990, was dismissed in February 2005 by the board of governors over differences with the music director,

. The resulting staff backlash caused serious disruptions and staff strikes. In a statement, the theatre's board said it was "urgent to unify the theatre's management". On 16 March 2005, the La Scala orchestra and other staff overwhelmingly approved a no-confidence motion against Muti. They demanded the resignation of Fontana's replacement, Mauro Meli. Muti had already been forced to cancel a concert a few days earlier because of the disagreements. Italy's culture minister, Giuliano Urbani, supported the conductor but called for urgent action by management to safeguard the smooth operation and prestige of La Scala. On 2 April 2005, Muti resigned from La Scala, citing "hostility" from staff members. In May 2005, Stéphane Lissner, formerly head of the Aix-en-Provence Festival, was appointed General Manager and artistic director of La Scala, becoming the first non-Italian in its history to hold the office. On 15 May 2006,

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Moses Barenboim (; born 15 November 1942) is an Argentines, Argentine-Israeli classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin, who also has Spain, Spanish and State of Palestine, Palestinian citizenship. From 1992 until January 2023, Bare ...

was named ''Maestro Scaligero'', or ''de facto'' principal guest conductor of the company. In October 2011, Barenboim was appointed the next music director of La Scala, effective December 2011, with an initial contract of 5 years. In December 2013, management named Riccardo Chailly the next music director of La Scala, effective 1 January 2015.It's official: Riccardo Chailly to be La Scala's new music director
''Gramophone'' (London). 10 December 2013. Stéphane Lissner left La Scala for the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

. His successor , formerly director of the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

, began his tenure on 1 October 2014. In June 2019 it was announced that Pereira will leave in 2020 and will be replaced by Dominique Meyer. La Scala was originally selected to host the opening ceremony of the 134th IOC Session in 2019, but the event was moved to

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, Switzerland after Milan submitted a joint bid with

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

for the

2026 Winter Olympics The 2026 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 at sites across Lombardy and North ...

Principal conductors or music directors

* Antônio Carlos Gomes (1836–1896) * Franco Faccio (1871–1889) *

(1898–1903) * Cleofonte Campanini (1903–1905) * Leopoldo Mugnone (1905–1906) * Arturo Toscanini (1906–1907) * Edoardo Vitale (1907–1910) * Tullio Serafin (1910–1914) * Gino Marinuzzi (1914–1917) * Tullio Serafin (1917–1918) * ''La Scala was closed from 1918 to 1920'' * Arturo Toscanini (1921–1929) * Victor de Sabata (1929–1953) * Carlo Maria Giulini (1953–1956) * Guido Cantelli (1956)Cantelli died in an airplane crash one week after his appointment. *

Antonino Votto Antonino Votto, sometimes spelt Antonio Votto, (30 October 1896 – 9 September 1985) was an Italian operatic conductor and vocal coach. Votto developed an extensive discography with the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala in Milan during the 1950s, when ...

(1956–1965) * Gianandrea Gavazzeni (1965–1968) *

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

(1968–1986) *

(1986–2005) * ''The position was vacant from April 2005 to December 2007'' *

(2007–2014) * Riccardo Chailly (2015–''present'') * Myung-Whun Chung (designated, 2027–)

Premieres

:''See: :Opera world premieres at La Scala'' * 1778: ''

'' by

* 1794: '' Demofoonte'' by

Marcos Portugal Marcos António da Fonseca Portugal (24 March 1762 – 17 February 1830), known as Marcos Portugal, or Marco Portogallo, was a Portuguese classical music, classical composer, who achieved great international fame for his operas. Biography Mar ...

* 1800: ''Idante, ovvero I sacrifici d'Ecate'' by Marcos Portugal * 1812: '' La pietra del paragone'' by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

* 1813: '' Aureliano in Palmira'' by Gioachino Rossini * 1814: '' Il turco in Italia'' by Gioachino Rossini * 1820: '' Margherita d'Anjou'' by

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...

* 1827: '' Il pirata'' by Vincenzo Bellini * 1829: '' La straniera'' by Vincenzo Bellini * 1831: '' Norma'' by Vincenzo Bellini * 1833: ''

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto. Her family arranged ...

'' by

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...

* 1835: '' Maria Stuarda'' by Gaetano Donizetti * 1839: '' Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio'' by

* 1840: ''

Un giorno di regno ''Un giorno di regno, ossia Il finto Stanislao'' (''A One-Day Reign, or The Pretend Stanislaus'', but often translated into English as ''King for a Day'') is an operatic '' melodramma giocoso'' in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto ...

'' by Giuseppe Verdi * 1842: ''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (; short for ''Nabucodonosor'' , i.e. "Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblic ...

'' by Giuseppe Verdi * 1843: '' I Lombardi alla prima crociata'' by Giuseppe Verdi * 1845: ''

'' by Giuseppe Verdi * 1868: '' Mefistofele'' by Arrigo Boito * 1870: '' Il Guarany'' by Antônio Carlos Gomes * 1873: '' Fosca'' by Antônio Carlos Gomes * 1876: '' La Gioconda'' by

Amilcare Ponchielli Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian opera composer, best known for his opera La Gioconda (opera), ''La Gioconda''. He was married to the soprano Teresina Brambilla. Life and work Born in Paderno Fasolaro ( ...

* 1879: '' Maria Tudor'' by Antônio Carlos Gomes * 1885: '' Marion Delorme'' by Amilcare Ponchielli * 1887: ''

'' by Giuseppe Verdi * 1889: ''

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

'' by

* 1892: '' La Wally'' by Alfredo Catalani * 1893: '' Falstaff'' by Giuseppe Verdi * 1904: ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

'' by Giacomo Puccini * 1924: '' Nerone'' by Arrigo Boito * 1926: '' Turandot'' by Giacomo Puccini * 1957: '' Dialogues of the Carmelites'' by Francis Poulenc * 1981: '' Donnerstag aus Licht'' by

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

* 1984: '' Samstag aus Licht'' by Karlheinz Stockhausen * 1988: '' Montag aus Licht'' by Karlheinz Stockhausen * 2007: '' Teneke'' by Fabio Vacchi * 2011: ''Quartett'' by Luca Francesconi * 2025: ''Il nome della rosa'' by Francesco Filidei

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * *

External links

* *
Accademia Teatro alla Scala official website

David Willey, "La Scala faces uncertain future", BBC News online, 12 November 2005

Zoomable image of the interior

Virtual tour

Seat preview – Photo and sweep panorama overlooking the stage from every seat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scala, La Music in Milan Music venues completed in 1778 Neoclassical architecture in Milan Opera history Opera houses in Italy Theatres completed in 1778 Theatres in Milan Tourist attractions in Milan Giuseppe Piermarini buildings 1778 establishments in Italy 18th-century architecture in Italy Rebuilt buildings and structures in Italy