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several years, though, the composer did not allow his work to be played there, as some of his music had been modified by the orchestra. Howev- er, Verdi later conducted his Req- uiem there on 25 th May 1874 and he announced in 1886 that La Sca- la would host the premiere of what was to become Otello. The premiere of his final opera, Falstaff, was also given to the theatre. A sensational re-opening In 1943, during World War II, La Scala sustained severe bomb damage. It was rebuilt and reo- pened on 11 th May 1946, with a memorable concert conducted by Toscanini and featuring a soprano solo by Renata Tebaldi that creat- ed a sensation. Stage to the stars For more than 200 years the greatest singers from all over the world have aspired to sing at La Sca- la. Maria Callas made her official de- but at La Scala in Verdi’s I vespri si- ciliani in December 1951, and the theatre became her artistic home throughout the 1950s. The Curse of the third Tier Box Legend has it that the third tier box on the right side of the theatre is cursed. It’s said that anyone who sits in this box will face misfortune or tragedy. While it’s undoubtedly a superstition, many visitors still prefer to avoid this particular spot. Would you sit there? First electric lights When La Scala first opened in 1778, oil lamps lit the stage and the- atre. Fire was an obvious risk, so as a precaution, workers filled several rooms with hundreds of buckets of water. The oil lamps were replaced by gas lamps, and in 1883 La Sca- la was the first public building in Milan to have electrical lights. The central grand chandelier, lit with 383 bulbs, was destroyed in 1943 World War II air raids, but the cur- rent chandelier is an exact replica of the original
THE GREAT MILAN OPERA HOUSE Everything you wanted to know about La Scala Over 3,000 seats; nearly 250 years of history; countless operatic debuts and launched careers - welcome to the Teatro alla Scala
THE TEATRO ALLA SCALA is among the world’s most famous opera houses. The greatest singers of the past almost 250 years have appeared there since it was inaugu- rated on 3 rd August 1778... The name ‘La Scala’ comes from the church of Santa Maria alla Scala, which used to stand on the same site. Today La Scala is famous for its acoustics. Architects and engi- neers considered the acoustics of every single element in the thea- tre, down to the type of rope used to hoist scenery backstage. While metal would be more efficient, nat- ural rope fibres have better acous- tics so they use hemp. They even recently replaced the velvet lining of the seats and boxes with a more acoustic-friendly synthetic version. There are many amazing facts about this amazing place that you should discover for yourself if you are headed to Milan this spring. Air Serbia has fast and comforta- ble flights, tickets for Scala are not cheap and are hard to find, so hur- ry up, but even if you aren’t attend-
ing an opera, you can always visit the building and the museum. Be- fore that, here are some things you should know… First opera La Scala opened its doors for the first time with a production of ‘L’Eu- ropa riconosciuta’ (Europe revealed) by Mozart’s so-called nemesis, Sa- lieri. The opera didn’t get another hearing at La Scala until Decem- ber 2004, when it was chosen to re-open the theatre - conducted by Riccardo Muti - after three years of renovations. Paganini’s debut The stage of La Scala has not on- ly provided a home to opera and bal- let. The virtuoso violinist Paganini made his debut there in November 1813. It was a resounding success and gave his career a kick start, after which he never looked back. Maestro Verdi The opera house had a special re- lationship with Giuseppe Verdi. For
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