La Scala Opera House

If you are a fan of opera and history, a visit to Italy would be incomplete without a stop at La Scala House. Located in Milan, this historic opera house has a seating capacity of 2,800. Its season opens on Saint Ambrose's Day (Dec. 7) each year, since this is the holiday of the patron saint of Milan. A wide variety of performances are scheduled almost every day of the year, including:
  • ballets
  • concerts
  • operas
  • recitals.
 
All performances at La Scala opera house must end before midnight, so longer performances begin early in the evening. In addition to the theater, La Scala also has its own museum and performing arts academy.

Origins of La Scala

La Scala House opened on Aug. 3, 1778. At that time, it was called Nuovo Regio Ducal Teatro alla Scala. It was built to replace the previous Milan opera house Teatro Ducale, which was destroyed in a 1776 fire, and was founded under the authority of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. The owners of the boxes at the Ducale came up with a plan to fund the new opera house and agreed to pay for the construction of the new theater. In return, they were allowed to possess the land where it was built and to renew ownership of their box seats. The new opera house was built on the grounds of the church of Santa Maria alla Scala and this was reflected in its name.

Earliest Performances

When La Scala first opened, the performances offered were mostly of the Neapolitan opera buffa style. Some early opera buffa operas performed at La Scala include:
  • "Il barbiere di Siviglia" (1786)
  • "La frascatana" (1780)
  • "L'italina in Londra" (1780)
  • "Nina pazza per amore" (1804).

Between 1793 and 1798, La Scala renewed its repertoire by adding performances that leaned toward neoclassical French tastes and evolutionary changes taking place in musical theater. Musical styles progressed from opera buffa to romantic opera. During this time, La Scala also expanded its offerings by including ballet. Operas were performed by a variety of great composers of the period, including:

La Scala Lighting
When La Scala opened in 1778, it was lit by oil lamps. It took over 1,000 oil lamps to provide enough light for such a large theater. Because of the risk of fire, buckets of water filled several rooms of the theater during that time period. Eventually, the oil lamps were replaced with gas lamps. Finally, in 1883, La Scala replaced the gas lamps with electric lights.

Famous Firsts

La Scala is well-known for hosting the prima (first production) of numerous famous operas over time. Great composers who have had their work premiere at La Scala in their own lifetimes include:

Rebuilding La Scala

La Scala has undergone many changes since it was built. In 1907, the original structure was renovated and the seating layout was changed from over 3,000 seats to its current 2,800 seat capacity.

During World War II, La Scala was badly damaged during bombing. Fortunately it was able to be rebuilt, and on May 11, 1946, it reopened with a concert conducted by Arturo Toscanini.

From January 2002 to November 2004, La Scala opera house closed for a major renovation. During that time, the opera company was temporarily transferred to the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, about four miles away. Improvements to La Scala during this renovation included:

  • enlargement of backstage area with more room for set storage
  • improved acoustics
  • monitors on all seats for an electronic libretto system
  • reconstruction of the entire stage
  • removal of heavy red carpets.

On Dec. 7, 2004, the newly renovated La Scala reopened. The production that evening was Salieri's "Europa riconosciuta," the opera which was originally performed when La Scala opened for the first time in 1778.

Resources

Bakerjian, Martha (2007). La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy. Retrieved January 11, 2008, from the About.com Web site: http://goitaly.about.com/b/2007/12/11/la-scala-opera-house-in-milan-italy.htm.

Teatro alla Scala (n.d.). Teatro alla Scala. Retrieved January 11, 2008, from the Teatro alla Scala Web site: http://www.teatroallascala.org/en/index.html.