Monday,
December 10, 2007
The
ANNOTICO Report
FACTBOX:
Reuters
Friday, December 7, 2007
Milan's La Scala opera house, whose history is intertwined with
Italy's, launches its 2007-2008 season with Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" with Daniel Barenboim picking up the baton as
main guest conductor.
Below are facts
about one of the most famous opera houses.
* Teatro alla Scala
was founded under the auspices of the Empress Maria Theresa of
* Designed by
neoclassical architect
Giuseppe Piermarini, La Scala opened
on August 3, 1778 with
Antonio Salieri's opera "Europa Riconosciuta".
The same
opera was performed when the house re-opened after its three-year closure ended
in 2004.
* In 1839, La Scala staged "Oberto Conte
di San Bonifacio", its first opera by Giuseppe
Verdi (1813-1901), whose name is linked more than any other to the history of
La Scala. In 1842, "Nabucco"
was held, the first real triumph of Verdi's career.
* In 1926, Arturo
Toscanini (1867-1957), one of the most celebrated conductors of all time,
conducted the premiere of Giacomo Puccini's "Turandot", considered one of the last great Italian
operas to be written.
* In 1943, during
World War Two, a bomb crashed through the roof of the auditorium. La Scala reopened three years later, with a historic concert
conducted by Toscanini.
* In 1986,
Riccardo Muti was named musical director. He
reintroduced some of Verdi's best-loved works like "Rigoletto"
and "La Traviata".
* After the 2001
season's opening night, the house closed for a three-year renovation. It added
214 seats to the carmine-and-gilt hall. The backstage was demolished and
replaced with a bigger stage and new equipment to hold scenery for three operas
at the same time.
* Famous singers
who have performed at La Scala include Enrico Caruso, Beniamino
Gigli, Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Renata Tebaldi, Luciano Pavarotti and
Placido Domingo.
* La Scala's season always starts on December 7, the feast day
of
* Barenboim was
named "maestro" at La Scala in 2006,
filling the void left by Riccardo Muti's exit as
music director. He will conduct two productions each season until 2012.
SOURCES: Reuters
and La Scala's Web site www.teatroallascala.org
(Writing by David
Cutler,
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