La Scala
Even if you are not that fond
of opera, if you miss the
opportunity to visit La Scala (officially, the Teatro alla
Scala), you will
regret it. Here,
Rossini made his name and Puccini's magnificent
Madame Butterfly
made her debut.
In 1776, the
Regio Teatro Ducale
was destroyed by
fire and the great
Neoclassical
architect Giuseppe
Piermarini was
commissioned by
Empress Maria
Theresa of Austria to build a theatre to replace it. He chose the site of
a demolished church, Santa Maria alla Scala. Piermarini must have had
phenomenal builders because what is probably the most perfect theatre in
the world was completed in under two years. It opened on 3 August 1778
with a performance of Antonio Salieri's l'Europa
Riconosciuta.
In the intervening years, La Scala has been dark three times, firstly
during World War I. It was reopened after Arturo Toscanini led an
independent, autonomous council to raise the money to reopen it in 1920.
La Scala was bombed again during World War II, and again, Toscanini
helped raise the funds to reconstruct and reopen it in 1946, with a
series of benefit concerts. Finally in 2001 the theatre went dark for
extensive renovations. At a cost of around US $70 million , Mario Botta,
the architect, was responsible for the work and in December 2004 La Scala
reopened, again with a performance of Salieri's l'Europa Riconosciuta.
La Scala is sumptuous from its plush, red velvet seating and chandeliers
to the emotion and appreciation with which its patrons greet performances
of ballet and opera and its conductors cast and rehearse the varied
repertoire. Do not miss it; it is the epitome of architectural, acoustic
and musical passion and excellence.
