L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano T eatro La Scala, in Milan, is the symbol of opera and music. You say La Scala, you say Puccini, Verdi, Callas. You say 7th of December and its glamorous Prima, when all VIPs, politicians and per- sonalities of Italy meet to assist to the first representa- tion of the theatre's winter season, comes to mind. For years, the Prima was also an occasion for socially aware protesters to make their voi- ces heard: memorable were their sit-ins against the fur industry in front of the thea- tre in the 1980s and 1990s, with "Milano bene's" fur-clad ladies rushing away and into the building, escaping color- ful slogans against animal cruelty and the lack of morals of those who supported it. Y e s , L a S c a l a . Y o u s a y Milan and you think of it. You say opera and you do the same. But what do we know about it, about its history and t h e p e o p l e w h o m a d e i t famous? Let's take an imagi- nary walk along its many cor- ridors and rooms, to learn more about the most famous theatre in the world. Its name T h e n a m e L a S c a l a comes from that of the squa- r e w h e r e t h e t h e a t r e w a s build, Piazza della Scala which, in turn, was called so because of the 14th century church of Santa Maria alla Scala there located. The chur- ch inherited its name from that of the family who com- missioned it, the famous — but today extinct — Veronese family of La Scala. If you're familiar with Milan, however, you may be slightly confused right now, as there isn't any church in Piazza della Scala today. Indeed, it was demoli- s h e d i n 1 7 7 6 w h e n M a r y Therese of Austria ordered the construction of the thea- tre. Its inauguration La Scala was inaugurated on the 3rd of August 1778: the building was supposed to be larger than the Vienna Opera, to which it was inspi- red. Mary Therese of Austria ordered its construction, we said, two years earlier, after a tragic fire burned down the T e a t r o R e g i o d i V i l l a Reale. The first opera repre- s e n t e d a t L a S c a l a w a s Antonio Salieri's L'Europa Riconosciuta. Yes, Salieri: the one who worked in Vienna with Mozart. Today, we are used to la Prima on the day of Saint Ambrose, patron of Milan, but this tradition is recent, as it dates only to 1940. Its boxes The most important fami- lies in Milan owned their own box at La Scala: it was a way for the theatre to earn money for maintenance. Owners could decorate their box as they wished, in fact, the way it was furnished and embelli- shed became soon synonym with status. The only thing that needed to be the same for every box were the cur- tains towards the orchestra and the stage. Today, they are red, but it wasn't always so: i n t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y , f o r instance, they were blue. Gambling at La Scala As it was common in those — and previous — years, the seats in the orchestra were much cheaper and usually assigned to the lower classes. There were about 700 seats, which could be easily moved to leave space for dancing and even, some reports say, to equestrian competitions. In the 19th century, people could also go to La Scala to gamble from midday to four in the morning. Box number 13 Box number 13 at La Scala is a special one, as it is enti- rely covered with mirrors so that its occupants can spy on what happens everywhere in the theatre. Curious, but also … mysterious, because we don't know what family had the box set in such a quirky way. A theater and its ghosts That goes without saying, of course: every serious thea- tre has at least a couple of ghosts. La Scala is known for being home to the spirit of 19th century soprano Maria Malibran, who died tragi- cally and very young. But s o m e e v e n s a y t h a t L a Divina, Maria Callas, can be seen wandering around its rooms. L e t ' s s w i n g f r o m t h e chandelier! La Scala's central chande- lier is the stuff of dreams: it counts 400 light bulbs and the cup with which it is atta- ched to the theatre's ceiling is big enough to fit a person inside. As you would expect, large part of it is made in pre- cious Bohemia crystal, but not all. Some sections are, in fact, made of plastic: having a chandelier of that size enti- rely made in crystal would have been dangerous because of its weight. It seems that Francesco Tamagno's high C —he was a tenor particularly a p p r e c i a t e d b y G i u s e p p e V e r d i — c o u l d m a k e t h e chandelier move. What we see today, though, it's not the same one: it's a copy of the original, made after it was damaged during World War Two bombings. La Piccola Scala On the 26th of December 1955, the Piccola Scala (Little Scala) was inaugurated. It was a "theatre in the theatre," a smaller version of its larger, m o r e f a m o u s s i s t e r , a n d counted about 600 seats. It had been developed for the performance of both contem- porary works and old melo- d r a m a . I t s p r i m a w a s a representation of Domenico Cimarosa's Il Matrimonio Segreto. It was closed in 1983 and became part of the "big" L a S c a l a i n 2 0 0 0 , d u r i n g renovations. Great for opera but not as much for symphonies Not all theaters are born equal and not all theaters are good for all types of music. We know La Scala's acoustics are perfect for opera, but it's not the same for symphonies and other types of instru- mental music. Experts say that even the best orchestras may sound muted, because La Scala's structure has not been conceived to let sound reverberate enough to achie- ve maximal clarity for orche- stral music. La Callas and her special spot Legend says that iconic Maria Callas had found the right spot on La Scala's stage from which her voice could be heard perfectly and clearly in every corner of the theatre. It's called the "punto Callas." GIULIA FRANCESCHINI LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE The magnificent interior of La Scala (Photo: Posztós János/Dreamstime) Secrets and curiosities of La Scala

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