Giuseppe Verdi's "La forza del destino"
From Dec. 1 to 11, the City of Milan, together with Edison, brings throughout the city the opera that opens La Scala's 2024/2025 season, Giuseppe Verdi's La forza del destino, directed by Leo Muscato.
Prima Diffusa accompanies Milan again this year in the week leading up to the La Scala premiere, with a series of listening guides, concerts, performances, screenings, exhibitions and reviews, lectures and free meetings, involving theaters, institutions, cultural venues, city spaces and unconventional venues.
The heart of the initiative is, as always, Dec. 7, the day on which the Prima is staged on the stage of Teatro alla Scala: thanks to Prima Diffusa, live coverage of the event will be shown in more than 30 locations in Milan. The screenings on Dec. 7, starting at 6 p.m. in conjunction with La Scala, are made possible by the collaboration with Teatro alla Scala and Rai, which is responsible for filming and live broadcasting on Rai 1 and via satellite. In some venues they will be preceded, at 4:30 p.m., by a listening guide by the Accademia Teatro alla Scala: through accessible and engaging language, musicologists and specialized narrators will help audiences learn about and understand Verdi's work.
On Monday, Dec. 2, at 6:30 p.m., Aula 38 of Stage Design at the Accademia Di Brera will host the opening event of Prima Diffusa 2024, with musicologist Fabio Sartorelli illustrating the plot and characters of La forza del destino and, thanks to the musical interpretation entrusted to the students of the Teatro alla Scala Academy of Lyric Opera, guiding the audience to an understanding of the historical, social and cultural context of the period in which Verdi composed the opera.
Many in-depth meetings are scheduled. They begin on Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. at Heracles Gymnasium with the puppet show “Il Piccolo Verdi,” a journey through the Maestro's childhood accompanied by the notes of a piano. It continues through Dec. 7 with meetings at Ottava Nota, Magazzino Musica MaMu, Spazio Teatro No'hma Teresa Pomodoro, in the Aula Magna of Istituto Zaccaria, and, in Binasco, at Mumac Museo della Macchina per Caffè of the Cimbali Group. Last appointment on Dec. 11 at Arci Biko for “W V.E.R.D.I,” presented by 19'40'', That is, three operas by Giuseppe Verdi, those of the popular trilogy, in extreme synthesis to better understand what they are about and how, more or less, they work (for a fee and with an Arci card). Side events include a Verdi recital at the MaMu Music Warehouse on Dec. 6 at 7 p.m., again with the Soloists of the La Scala Academy accompanied on piano by Michele D'Elia.
Also as part of the Prima Diffusa, moreover, the La Scala Academy is offering a series of meetings in high schools, which are not only aimed at introducing the different nuances of opera, but also at introducing young people to the many professions of the performing arts.
Appointments may be subject to changes in dates and times: it is suggested that you check the yesmilano website for updates.
Ph(c)Domenico Lops
