The history of Teatro alla Scala started in 1776. That year, a fire destroyed the previous theatre, the Teatro Regio Ducale, on 25 February 1776, after a carnival gala. After this tragic event, empress Maria Teresa wanted to build a new theatre, and thus, the construction of La Scala started. The site chosen for the new theatre was the degraded area of the Church of Santa Maria della Scala, named in honour of Beatrice Regina della Scala, the wife of Bernabo Visconti.

The empress, Maria Theresa of Austria, appointed the architect Giuseppe Piermarini to build a new theatre. So, after two years, in 1778, the construction was finished, and so began the story of one of the greatest opera houses in the world, Teatro alla Scala.

The theatre had about 3,000 seats, organized into 678 pit-stalls, arranged in six tiers of boxes above which is the “loggione“, or two galleries. Its stage is one of the largest in Italy.

Building expenses were covered by the sale of boxes, which were lavishly decorated by their owners, impressing observers such as Stendhal. La Scala soon became the preeminent meeting place for noble and wealthy Milanese people. In the tradition of the times, the main floor had no chairs, and spectators watched her shows standing up. The orchestra was in full sight, as the pit had not yet been built.

As with most of the theatres at the time, La Scala was also a casino, with gamblers sitting in the foyer. 

La Scala opened to the public in 1778. The first performance was Antonio Salieri’s „L’Europa riconosciuta“, which he had composed specifically for the opera house’s grand opening.

Soon, however, Teatro alla Scala established itself as a cultural hub in the city. In 1812, Gioachino Rossini came to La Scala and “transformed” it into a place of Italian opera seria. Rossini’s works performed at La Scala: Il turco in Italia, La Cenerentola, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La donna del Iago, Otello, Semiramide and Mose.

A new season of serious opera took place between 1822 and 1825. This season opened with Chiara e Serafina by Gaetano Donizetti. Until 1850, many of Donizetti’s operas were performed at La Scala: Anna Bolena, Lucrezia Borgia, La fille du regiment, La favorita, and Don Pasquale. These were followed by Bellini’s Capuleti e I Montecchi, Norma, La sonnambula, and I puritani.

In 1839 Oberto Conte di San Bonifacio inaugurated the cycle of operas by Giuseppe Verdi. 

The relationship between the famous composer and the most prestigious theatre in Milan became famous for its stormy character: Verdi was in love with the theatre but had to give it up for over 20 years because of its contradiction with the contractors. Verdi did not allow his work to be played at La Scala, as the orchestra had modified some of his music (he said “corrupted“). It was probably also Verdi’s absence that influenced the crisis period La Scala underwent in the late 1800s. However, the composer later conducted his Requiem there on 25th May 1874 and announced in 1886 that La Scala would host the premiere of his penultimate opera, Otello. The premiere of his last opera, Falstaff, was also in the theatre.

One of the greatest names associated with La Scala is Arturo Toscanini. He became the artistic director from 1921 to 1929 and introduced radical reform into the theatre, both in its organisational aspects and relations with the public. He conducted the first performance of Turandot on 25th April 1926. Puccini’s great opera Turandot was unfinished at the time of the composer’s death in 1924. Thus, at the premiere at La Scala, Toscanini, in the middle of Act 3, halted the orchestra, laid down his baton and, turning to the audience, announced, “Here the opera ends, because at this point the maestro died“. The curtain was lowered slowly.

In 1943, during World War II, La Scala was severely damaged by bombing. It was rebuilt and reopened on May 11th, 1946, with a memorable concert by Arturo Toscanini and Renata Tebaldi as a soloist, creating a sensation.

La Scala was the guest of many legendary artists such as Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Giussepe Di Stefano, Mario Del Monaco, and many others. Principal conductors and music directors who wrote the history of La Scala were: Franco Faccio, Arturo Toscanini, Tullio Serafin, Carlo Maria Giulini, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Chailly (2015-2022).