Teatro alla Scala
La Scala or Teatro alla Scala is a world famous opera house in Milan, Italy. It was inaugurated in the second half of the 18th century with the performance "Europa riconosciuta" by Antonio Salieri. La Scala opera house is one of the leading ballet and opera theaters worldwide, as well as home to the La Scala Theatre Chorus, La Sala Theatre Orchestra and the La Scala Theatre Ballet. Also, the theatre associates with the La Scala Theatre Academy, which provides professional training in music, dance, stage management and stage craft. The La Scala hosts the Academia d'Arti e Mestieri dello Spettacolo, the Academy for Perfoming Arts. In the 1980s, the Filarmonica della Scala was established, with members of the Orchestra della Scala.
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If you wish to visit the La Scala opera house, it's important to know that the theatre season opens on 7 December, the day of Milan's patron saint, St. Ambrose. Performances always end before midnight.
There is a theatre Museum and library, the Museo Teatrale alla Scala, accessible from the foyer of the opera house, holding an exquisite collection of paintings, statues, drafts, costumes and documents regarding La Scala's history and the history of opera.
The structure was designed by Pietro Marliani, Pietro Nosetti and Antonio and Giuseppe Fe to hold over 3.000 seats organized in 6 tiers of boxes, surmounted by 2 galleries, with one of the largest stages in Italy.
The galleries or "loggione" are famous for hosting the most critical aficionados of opera and theatre performances. They make sure that the performers receive a "baptism of fire" and that performance fiascoes are long remembered.
The outer appearance of the opera house is neoclassicist, a symmetrical building with a central volume flanked by 2 wings, with a massive triple-arch entrance, triangle tympanum windows, strip pilasters with corinthic capitels and a large triangle tympanum with a bas-relief decoration crowning the facade.
La Scala has hosted the first production of many famous operas. The opera house also had a special relationship with Giuseppe Verdi.
A major renovation of La Scala took place in 2002 - 2004, carried out by the renowned architect Mario Botta, an adherent of the brutalist style, who improved both the structure and the quality of sound.
