When I described Milan in the last post, I used the word “remarkable.” I did so intentionally, for I wanted to assert my opinion that no other word would work. For me, based on my own experience, I can’t think of anywhere else where the citizens’ love of grandeur and, at the same time, their clearly established joie de vivre, are made more clear than in the way the Milanese honor – and make use of – one of the finest opera houses in the world, located right in the center of their remarkable city.
So with all I had heard about La Scala, Andrew and Sandi and I determined that we should embrace the whole idea. We did, having a special tour, attending two performances, and, surprisingly, coming away with some new thoughts about how we, as opera goers, have come to experience the fundamental element of opera – how it sounds. Read on for some of our experiences and thoughts.
Enjoying Opera in Milan: A Special Treat
We were hardly settled into our hotel (about three New York-style “short” blocks from the opera house) before we walked around to see this much talked about and much honored musical “shrine.”
Interestingly, the exterior architecture of the building is not necessarily in keeping with what I was expecting. Teatro alla Scala is lovely, of course, as you can see here. And it is located just a short walk from the real center of Milan, Piazza del Duomo, with its direct connection into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. After a short walk through La Galleria and around Piazza della Scala, a lovely small park in front of the opera house, there it is.
Although it’s a fact hardly ever mentioned, one curious fact about the building is that Teatro alla Scala was completely bombed in 1943, and it was the first building in the city rebuilt, just three years later. It does not look like a 1946 building (why should it?), and obviously great care was given over to recreating the 1778 building (actually the second theater, since the original building had been destroyed by fire just two years earlier) that had been lost in the war.
When we visited the opera house, for a special tour kindly arranged for us, as the tour ended we took time to enjoy a large exhibition honoring one of the great names in opera. Called Franco Zeffirelli – The La Scala Years, the exhibition was built to honor not only the centenary of the great designer’s birth but his many years working with La Scala (21 productions, from L’italiana in Algeri in 1953 to a very famous Aida in 2006).
At the Met here in New York Zeffirelli created 11 productions over 35 years, and his work continues to be a clear favorite with us. We still have both his La Bohème from 1981 and his Turandot from 1987 in the repertory, with both frequently performed and always sold out (and with the latter described by the New York Post critic in 1987 as “A big, eye catching, densely-packed, opulent new production staged by the master of monumentality, Franco Zeffirelli.”
But back to our visit at La Scala. After we had spent our time in the Zeffirelli exhibition (but not really enough time for the likes of us), we made our way toward the exit where we were greeted by a very well-dressed gentleman, who joined us and walked down the two flights of stairs with us. He had lived in New York several years back, and he seemed to want to speak with us. While we were surprised to be met by him, he turned out to be a member of the staff and he seemed to be quite determined to walk with us to the street exit. I gather he had been assigned to meet us as we left, and, it seems, to engage us in some conversation, which he did very eloquently and sincerely, talking with us in particular about our experiences with opera in New York.
As we talked, he gifted us with a copy of Nei palchi della Scala: Storie milanesi (In the boxes of La Scala: Milanese Stories). It is a stunning book, the elegant and perfectly assembled catalogue of a 2019 exhibition telling the history of La Scala, with special emphasis on the boxes in the house (as shown in Andrew’s photo, taken during our tour).
The book turned out to be one of the most beautiful souvenirs of our trip and we soon realized that whoever invited him to share this treasure with these visiting Americans certainly knows about all there is to know about the value of well-carried-out international pubic relations.
And in reading this lovely book (mostly in Italian of course, but with enough English content to be understood by people like us), we learn a little about what people – even visitors – have thought about La Scala over the centuries. Here are just two notable quotes:
Stendhal, for example, had this to say in 1816:
Is it raining, is it snowing outside La Scala, what does it matter? All the best company is come together in 180 theater boxes.
And Franz Liszt, in 1838:
In Milan, to be recognised as a foreigner, it is enough to be asked, “Are you going to La Scala this evening?”
A superfluous, idle and useless question, one that the people of Milan do not ask each other. There is no doubt in their minds: it would be like asking whether one were still alive?”
Yes, it’s easy to see why La Scala is one of the most loved theaters in the world. And in this, our first visit, like all the other visitors we had been able to realize an almost-lifelike “dream” (I suppose that’s the right word) to hear a performance or two at this wonderful venue.
As I said, our Milanese opera adventure included two programs, a brand-new Lucia de Lammermoor, Gaetano Donizett’s heartbreaking masterpiece (and long-time audience favorite). Originally commissioned for La Scala’s 2020 season, to introduce our MET Opera favorite Lisette Oropesa to Milan and La Scala, the pandemic postposed that glorious show to last April, thankfully when we were there. Oropesa’s Edgardo was Juan Diego Flórez, and both of them – plus the entire case of this all-time favorite – were in top-notch form, bringing the La Scala audience – well-known for its enthusiastic love of opera – to their feet several times during the performance.
And, for opera people like us, we were surprised and delighted to discover that the opera is available online at the Medici.tv streaming service. Click here to listen: La Scala Lucia de Lammrmoor 2023. [Non-subscribers to the service can stream the opera at no charge with Medici’s “free trial” subscription.]
Our second performance was Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, which was first performed at La Scala on 28 March 1896 in its world premier. This opera is a long-time La Scala favorite and has had many productions and many leading singers over the years, including such famous names as Maria Callas, Mario Del Monaco, Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, Eva Marton, and, more recently, Anna Netrebko and Sonya Yoncheva. In the current run, this very heart-rending story is performed in a beautiful 2017 production, well-suited to this glorious opera house (and its very demanding audience). Yusuf Eyvazov sang Chénier and Chiara Isotton sang Maddelena de Coigny and the quality of the singing was highly praised and enthusiastically received.
And, not to cast a negative slant on our beloved Metropolitan Opera, there might be a rather evident reason why opera is so beautifully performed at La Scala. First of all, as I noted above, the citizens of Milan take special pride in and greatly love their opera house (as do, it must be noted, many of the city’s visitors, some of whom come just to attend the opera). The more obvious reason, though, might be just the size of the house, and I can’t help but wonder – when we were so thrilled with the acoustics of the opera house when the first notes of the overture to Lucia were played – just why the sound was so much more directed to us than in other opera houses. As we discussed with our tour guide, we in New York have a special situation with the Met, with its nearly 4,000 seating capacity. Yet we can only praise very highly how our “home” opera house deals with any listening issues that come up. We audience members are not disappointed.
Nevertheless, what we heard at La Scala brought to our attention just how important sound delivery is to audiences, no matter where they are. There’s no way to get around it: the opera experience at La Scala is special, and we enjoyed it immensely.
For photographs from our visit, go to Milan – La Scala.