La Scala Opera House

La Scala Opera House

La Scala Opera House (Italian: Teatro alla Scala or La Scala) is located in Milan, Italy, and is one of the most famous opera houses in the world. The grand theater officially opened on August 3, 1778, with the premiere of Antonio Salieri's opera "L'Europa riconosciuta" (Europa Recognized).

When it was first built, the theater had over 3,000 seats and an auditorium, with a horseshoe-shaped audience hall featuring six rows of boxes. The stage was 26 meters wide and 27 meters high, with a height of 20 meters. In 1907, La Scala underwent renovation and was redesigned to accommodate 2,800 seats. The theater was closed for refurbishment from January 19, 2002, to November 2004, with the project planned by the renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta. On December 7, 2004, the theater officially reopened, with ticket prices reaching as high as €2,000.

The performance season at La Scala begins on December 7, the Feast of Saint Ambrose (the patron saint of Milan). All performances must end before midnight, so longer operas typically start in the evening. Once a performance begins, no ticket holders are allowed to enter, with no exceptions—even the famous actor Richard Burton was once turned away. La Scala also houses a theater museum, consisting of four or five small exhibition rooms displaying a wealth of valuable collections related to opera and the theater’s history, including paintings, manuscripts, sculptures, costumes, and other documents, with two rooms dedicated to Verdi’s memorabilia. Additionally, there is a theater library that holds 80,000 volumes of dramatic art literature in various languages.

La Scala

Must-visit reason: One of the world's most famous opera houses

Continent where the attraction is located: Europe【Europe】

Country/region where the attraction is located: Italy[Italy]

Province/state where the attraction is located: Lombardy Region [Lombardy Region]

City where the attraction is located: Milan [Milan]