La Scala launches streaming platform Scala.tv

Teatro alla Scala in Milan has launched Scala.tv, a streaming platform offering live and on-demand opera, ballet, concerts, and children's shows. The debut is set for February 14, 2023, at 7 PM with a live broadcast of the fifth performance of Giuseppe Verdi's I Vespri siciliani in a new production conducted by Fabio Luisi and directed by Hugo de Ana. Tickets for the first streaming view, priced up to €10, go on presale February 9. The platform, inspired by similar services in German theaters, uses nine cameras installed during the pandemic. It aims to reach a global audience unable to travel to Milan and engage younger viewers through school access. During intermissions, director Mario Acampa will guide viewers behind the scenes. The service also plans a catalog of past performances, documentaries, and exclusive content for subscribers. This initiative is part of a broader modernization: next summer, tablets will replace outdated subtitle displays, and a QR code in the foyer offers librettos in five languages (aiming for eight). Renovation and expansion continue: a 36-meter tower designed by Mario Botta will be completed by year's end on Via Verdi, and new workshops in the Rubattino district, designed by Pablo Oriol Salgado, will consolidate rehearsal spaces, tailoring shops, and storage currently in Rho, funded by PNRR.