La Scala Theatre

This is a temple of international opera. One of the world's most famous theatres, it opened on 3 August 1778 with a performance of L'Europa riconosciuta, especially composed for the occasion by Antonio Salieri.

The theatre programme consistently features classical music and opera with the most popular date being 7 December - feast day of Sant'Ambrogio - when the opera season opens with the famous prima della Scala, the most eagerly awaited theatre premier of the year.

The auditorium has four floors of seating and two very high balconies, and seats over 2,000. The world's most famous orchestras and musicians have played there including Giuseppe Verdi and Arturo Toscanini.

The theatre is the headquarters of the choir of the same name, a prestigious corps de ballet, an orchestra and a Philharmonic orchestra.

Like to know more about La Scala's history? We suggest you visit the Theatre Museum with its adjoining library.

The museum contains a lot of exhibits featuring famous artistes who have walked the boards of the La Scala stage: costumes, theatre set sketches, letters and portraits as well as many different, original music manuscripts by Italy's famous composers, Verdi, Puccini, Rossini and Donizetti.