Teatro alla Scala aka: La Scala

My passion for opera began when I was 9 years old, when I was still in Bienville Parish in rural North Louisiana with little access to performances. (I tell the story at Shreveport > Civic Theatre.) As I near 50, am living in Los Angeles and am traveling from time to time, I am seeing more opera these days than ever. Makes me happy. In Europe, I’ve attended performances in 4 different houses in Paris (Opera Garnier, Opera Bastille, Théâtre du Châtelet, Comédie-Française), at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania. Obviously, there are some important opera houses I have not yet visited, La Scala being one. I’ll get there someday.

Not only was I able to see the theatre, but the opera Rigoletto. Well, I heard the opera from my seat anyway…

I was this close to La Scala when I was in Milan…Somewhere, I even have a photo of myself standing in front of it (proof of how near I was to the theatre), but that’s as close as I could get. You see, I was in Milan during a seasonal break between operas, so I couldn’t see any performances there. But the worst part was that the place was closed for minor renovations at the time, so I couldn’t even step inside to take a gander at the hall. Sooo disappointing! Obviously, I have to go back to Milan…

I may not be able to get to Milan soon enough to see L’Europa Riconosciuta, but I can dream. And I’m sure that there will be something fantastic going on whenever I can make my way to Italy.

Antonio Salieri is a great composer in his own right and deserves to be known for more than just “Mozart’s jealous villain antagonist”… which he really wasn’t. eyeroll