La Scala
Via Filodrammatici, 2 (distance from the hotel : 3,5 km)
The Teatro alla Scala (or La Scala, as it is also known), in Milan is one of the world's most famous opera houses. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778, under the name Nuovo Regio Ducal Teatro alla Scala with Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.
La Scala's season traditionally opens on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's Day, the feast day of Milan's patron saint.
All performances must end before midnight; long operas start earlier in the evening if need be. Ticketholders are not allowed to enter after the performance has begun.
The La Scala Museum (Museo Teatrale alla Scala), accessible from the theatre's foyer and a part of the house, contains an extraordinary collection of paintings, drafts, statues, costumes, and other documents regarding opera and La Scala's history.
La Scala also hosts the Accademia d’Arti e Mestieri dello Spettacolo. Its goal is to train a new generation of young musicians, technical staff, and dancers.
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National Theatre of Milan
Piazza Piemonte, 12 (distance from the hotel: 2 km)
National Theatre of Milan was founded by Mauro Rota in the 'twenties and constructed with a capacity of almost two thousand seats, in the stalls, circles and gallery.
The theatre was immensely successful until the post-war years, when it fell into decline largely due to the advent of cinema.
In 1979 the theatre was restored and once again saw theatrical productions, which led to a need for further restoration work in recent years.
A recent overall renovation programme involved more than just restoration of the building: it was transformed into a theatre dedicated exclusively to musicals.
The complex renewal product was born out of a meeting between Gianmario Longoni, Massimo Romeo Piparo and Gruppo Viaggi del Ventaglio.
Gianmario Longoni, involved in Teatro Nazionale di Milano management and artistic direction since 1996, has brought the world's greatest musicals to Italy: from Evita, West Side Story, and Cats to The Rocky Horror Show, and A Chorus Line.
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Piccolo Teatro
Largo Greppi, 1 (distance from the hotel: 2 km)
Piccolo Teatro della Città di Milano, the first teatro stabile, or permanent theatre company, to be set up in Italy. Founded in 1947 by Giorgio Strehler (1921–1997) and the actor-director Paolo Grassi (1919–81) with a municipal grant, it later received a state subsidy, and became the model for similar ventures in Rome, Turin, and elsewhere. It opened with Gorky's The Lower Depths, and Strehler's production of Goldoni's Il servitore di due padroni was staged in the same season.
The company quickly achieved an excellent reputation, one of Strehler's achievements being the introduction to Italian audiences of the plays of Brecht. In 1967 the company was seen in London during the World Theatre Season, again in Goldoni's comedy. A year later Strehler resigned over the municipality's failure to provide a new theatre for the company, but he returned as sole director in 1972. The company has staged over 200 productions encompassing revivals of the classics (especially Shakespeare and Goldoni), contemporary foreign works, and new Italian plays. It tours extensively in Italy and has visited nearly 30 foreign countries.
From 1983 to 1990 Strehler was also Artistic Director of the Théâtre de l'Europe at the Odéon in Paris. In 1990 at the Piccolo Studio he staged the first part of a two-part adaptation of Goethe's Faust, also playing the title-role and supervising the Italian translation.
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