Antonio Salieri's Europa Riconosciuta, will inaugurate the 2004-2005 season as it did La Scala's first season in 1778, which was built after Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, then Milan's ruler,insisted.

After three years, Milan's La Scala opera company will return to their renovated theater in time for their season opening.

Miami Herald
Associated Press
By Piero Valsecchi
Fri, Nov. 05, 2004

MILAN, Italy - La Scala's back where it belongs.

After a three-year ''exile'' to the city's outskirts, the famed opera company is returning home to its renovated 18th century theater in the heart of Milan in time for La Scala's traditional Dec. 7 opening night.

The contested renovation was completed a few weeks ahead of schedule, giving conductor Riccardo Muti time for rehearsals of Antonio Salieri's Europa Riconosciuta, the opera that will inaugurate the 2004-2005 season as it did La Scala's first season in 1778.

Muti tested acoustics of the ''new'' La Scala with a 40-minute rehearsal last week, and theater officials reported that the maestro broke into an applause at the end to express his satisfaction with the sound quality.

''It was very emotional to return to your home after a long absence and find it more splendid and more welcoming than before,'' Muti said.

''Muti shared with me his enthusiasm about the acoustic quality of the new theater,'' said Milan Mayor Gabriele Albertini, whose government approved and financed in part the $67 million renovation that began in early 2002.

The renovation -- which preservationists went to court in a vain attempt to block -- added storage and service space behind the stage and stripped away carpeting and linoleum to reveal Venetian marble floors in the corridors and terra cotta tiles in the boxes.

The tapestry was completely remade in silk, while the stalls, gallery and box seats were covered with red velvet.

Project architect Mario Botta said the structure of the stage and the spectator section were untouched while the work behind the scene added precious storage space for sets.

In another modern touch in the so-called Temple of Bel Canto, screens were mounted on each seat to allow the opera-goers to follow the libretto in English, French or Italian.

That innovation has been successfully tested at the Arcimboldi Theater, which was built in a former industrial area to serve as La Scala's temporary home during renovation.

The opening date will mark the second official reopening of the opera house, which was built after Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, then Milan's ruler, decided the city needed a new theater in its heart. It was inaugurated with Salieri's work, the only previous time it was staged at La Scala.

In May 1946, Arturo Toscanini conducted an emotional concert to reopen La Scala after it was badly damaged by Allied bombings in 1943.

Herald.com | 11/05/2004 | Rebuilt theater earns applause from La Scala
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