Head to La Scala at Via Filodrammatici 2 in the Piazza della Scala in Milan. Even if you don't plan to attend a performance here, you'll probably want to see what the theater is like inside. Your best bet for getting a good overview of La Scala is to go to the La Scala Museum at Largo Ghiringhelli 1, in the two lower floors of the theater. The ground floor has a chronological display of the museum's permanent collection, while the upper floor is mostly devoted to costumes and changing exhibitions. The museum is open from 9am to 12:30pm, with the last entrance at noon, and 1:30 to 5:30pm, with the last entrance at 5pm. It's closed January 1, Easter Sunday, May 1, August 15, December 7, 25, 26 and the afternoon of the 31st. There is disabled access and admission is charged.
Go into the museum and you'll encounter displays of antique musical instruments, theatrical ceramics, materials related to commedia dell ’arte and great female singers, theatrical paintings, displays on Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Rossini, Arturo Toscanini, Eleonora Duse, Enrico Caruso and Maria Callas, stage curtain designs, busts and set designs. The collection includes Verdi's top hand, scores, death mask and hand cast, Rossini's spectacles, Toscanini's batons and some of Mozart's hair.
Continue on and explore the theater itself, the tour being included with your museum admission. Be warned, though, that theater tours are not given when rehearsals or performances are going on. You'll see the foyer with its vaulted ceiling, mirrored walls and bust of Toscanini and the auditorium itself, with its four tiers and two balconies, red velvet seats, gilded molding, the "golfo mistico" orchestra pit and the enormous 383-light Bohemian crystal chandelier. Make sure and visit the La Scala bookstore, which sells books, CDs and posters and even has a self-ticketing machine. You can also get a guided tour by contacting Francine Garino through her email at [email protected] or fax on +39 02.88 79 20 90. Her tours run €30.
Visit the backstage Ansaldo Workshops at Via Bergognone, 34 in the back of the theater. Guided tours are given on Tuesday and Thursday. Groups and school children are taken through between 9am and noon and 2 and 4pm, while individual tours are given at 3pm. Admission is charged and the tours are available only by setting an appointment by telephone at +39.02.43353521, fax at +39.02.463917 or email at [email protected]. You'll get to see areas pertaining to set design and construction and the designing, fitting, cleaning and storage of costumes, as well as the chorus practice rooms.
Attend a performance at La Scala, now that your appetite has been whetted. The opera season officially begins on December 7, the feast day of Sant' Ambrogio, patron saint of Milan, and runs through July. Tickets run the gamut from €10 for the nosebleed seats to €180 for those up front. Opening-night tickets can easily run to €2000. Tickets initially are offered two months before the show date, with a twenty percent surcharge lopped on. Any tickets remaining are sold one month prior to the performance with a ten percent surcharge. In the highly unlikely event any tickets remain unsold, you can get them for half-price on the day of the performance. If you're really desperate, you might be able to get a standing-room-only ticket a half-hour before the performance starts.The Central Box Office is located by the Galleria del Sagrato at the Duomo Metro station off Piazza Del Duomo. The office is underground at the Duomo ATM Point and is open daily from noon to 6pm. The Evening Box Office is located at La Scala at Via Filodrammatici 2 on the left side of the theater at the "Biglietteria Serale" sign. It opens two hours before each performance and closes fifteen minutes after the performance starts. It only handles same day ticket transactions. Some of the nicer hotels in Milan can get you tickets and once in a while the local tourist board can help, but it's best to rely on your own efforts.If you can't wrangle a ticket to the opera, don't lose heart, because there are concerts and ballet and theatrical performances at La Scala every month year-round except for August, when all Europeans go on vacation.
