Talking about Milan its Duomo and the Teatro alla Scala come to mind. Because they are two places that are part of the history of the city, its worldliness, its culture. And it is precisely on August 3 that an important anniversary is celebrated for the city theater. 242 years have passed since the inauguration of the La Scala theater. An important anniversary again this year, in which it is not easy to restart culture. But the , is ready for this new challenge and the program of concerts and the new season has already been released. Because art and theater don't stop. But let's try to retrace the stages of the long history of this place of the heart, for all Milanese and beyond.
Teatro alla Scala, the temple of culture: some historical information
Known as "La Scala di Milano", the theater is considered by all to be the main opera house in Milan. And above all one of the most prestigious theaters in the world. In fact it hosts every year great international artists of opera, classical music, ballet. Built in the place where the church of Santa Maria alla Scala was located, demolished for the New Regio Ducal Teatro alla Scala. Its inauguration, in fact, took place on August 3, 1778. And as per tradition that is respected for the opening of a great theater was staged "The recognized Europe". To compose it Antonio Salieri. The choir, orchestra and corps de ballet were also founded in the same year. 90 rich families from Milan wanted the construction of the theater, after the fire that damaged the previous theater in 1776. The neoclassical architect Giuseppe Piermarini, approved by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, designed the project.
The inauguration of the Teatro alla Scala season every year on 7 December
And did you know that every year all the Milanese social life, civil and military authorities, but also many young people await the start of the theater season. And it is no coincidence that in 1940 for at the behest of Victor del Sabata it was decided that every year the season would be inaugurated on 7 December. Significant date for Milan. Its patron saint Sant'Ambrogio is celebrated. And then on December 7 of that year Maria Callas he obtained his first triumph in the city as interpreter of "I Vespri Siciliani" directed by De Sabata himself.
Rossini, Verdi, Donizzetti, the great names of the Italian theater in Milan
And such an important place was the scene of great works and great masters and composers. From Rossini: with him in 1812 the Scala became the place of Italian melodrama. And then Donizetti and Bellini up to 1839 with "Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio" which opens the era of Verdi (1813-1901), the composer who more than any other is linked to the history of La Scala; the triumph of Nabucco (1842), due to the strong patriotic sentiment it aroused in Milan, which was crossed by the ferment of the nascent Italian Risorgimento. To reform the theater, Toscanini who became artistic director in the twenties of the twentieth century, extending the theatrical and symphonic repertoire of the Orchestra.
The singers, directors and great dancers of La Scala
The great protagonists of the Teatro alla Scala were also the interpreters like Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Mirella Freni, Luciano PavarottiPlacido Domingo. The directors Visconti, Zeffirelli, Ronconi. Not to forget the choreographers and dancers such as Rudolf Nureyev, Carla Fracci, Luciana Savignano. So many directors and composers who led the theater. In the eighties Riccardo Muti who brought back on stage, among others, Verdi's most loved operas, Rigoletto, La traviata, Macbeth, The strength of destiny, Falstaff and Don Carlo. There are also many maintenance and restoration works. And in 2004 the reopening after the works was characterized by the representation of "Europe recognized”Of Salieri for the direction of Muti. Precisely in homage to that distant 3 August 1778.
The programming for the restart
And the Milanese Theater is now ready to restart with a rich program. Leading the rebirth is the musical director Riccardo Chailly, who will be involved in Aida and in numerous concerts, while Maestro Zubin Mehta will be on the podium on September 15th, to The Traviata and six symphonic concerts. But the rules of distancing on stage and in the hall will be respected. And there is expectation for 4 September with Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem Mass conducted by Chailly in the Milan Cathedral in memory of the victims of the pandemic.
