The Teatro alla Scala has always shown a true vocation for training new generations, with the desire to transmit not only the great musical and choreographic tradition, but also the creative and manual skills as well as the managerial ones. This has been the case since 1813, the year in which the School of Dance was founded, followed in the 1950s by the School of the “Cadetti della Scala”, of which the current the Academy of Lyric Opera is the authoritative heir, and in 1970 by the Course for Set Designers.
The training activity linked to the Milanese Theatre has therefore undergone a constant development that led to the creation of the Fondazione Accademia Teatro alla Scala in 2001, under the supervision of Carlo Fontana.
Today, chaired by Victor Massiah and directed by Luisa Vinci, the La Scala Academy offers about thirty courses distributed in four departments – Music, Dance, Stagecraft, Management – which cover almost all the professions of live entertainment. The Founding Members, in addition to the Teatro alla Scala, are the Lombardy Region, the Municipality of Milan, the Chamber of Commerce of Milan, the Fondazione Berti Onlus, the Fondazione Bracco, the Fondazione Milano per la Scala, Intesa Sanpaolo and Techbau. These are joined by a significant group of supporters, including foundations, associations, companies and individuals, who allow the Teatro alla Scala to donate scholarships and favour various formulas aimed at facilitating the attendance of studies.
The Accademia Teatro alla Scala is unique because its teachers are unique: the artists and professionals of the Teatro alla Scala, together with undisputed experts in the sector, capable of translating their knowledge into daily teaching, the result of successful careers, on stage or behind the scenes.
Direct contact with the world of work is the basis of the teaching methodology, in order to guarantee a valid professional integration thanks to a significant internship experience at the most prestigious institutions in the entertainment sector and an intense practical activity, not only on the national territory, between concerts, opera and ballet productions, shows, exhibitions, in addition to the traditional annual event with the “Progetto Accademia”, an opera title included in the Scala season.
LA SCALA ACADEMY OF LYRIC OPERA
Among the flagships of the Music Department, there is the La Scala Academy of Lyric Opera, founded by Riccardo Muti in 1997 under the direction of Leyla Gencer, collecting the heritage of the school of the “Cadetti della Scala”, which Arturo Toscanini had created in 1950 to guarantee the transmission of the Italian lyrical tradition. Since the death of the great soprano, the list of directors includes the names of Mirella Freni and Renato Bruson. Today, the two-year advanced course is entrusted to the teaching responsibility of Luciana D’Intino, who is in charge of the teaching of vocal and interpretative technique.
Alongside her, interpreters of the contemporary scene alternate, holding masterclasses to deepen the repertoire: among the names that have alternated are Luis Alva, Marcelo Álvarez, Teresa Berganza, Renato Bruson, Enzo Dara, Juan Diego Flórez, Mirella Freni, Barbara Frittoli, Gregory Kunde, Christa Ludwig, Eva Mei, Giorgio Merighi, Leo Nucci, Ruggero Raimondi, Renata Scotto, Luciana Serra, Pietro Spagnoli, Shirley Verrett. The preparation is completed with the study of the roles, under the aegis of renowned collaborating teachers, and the study of scenic art, curated by Marina Bianchi.
The programme is particularly intense because the daily study is intertwined with the frequent participation of the soloists in the productions of the Teatro alla Scala, in small roles, in addition to a title that since 2000 has been entrusted to them in toto and inserted in the season, the Progetto Accademia, which also sees the presence of the La Scala Academy Orchestra. Over the course of two years, the students therefore have the opportunity to constantly confront themselves on one of the most important stages in the world with interpreters, conductors and directors of fame, both in new productions and in historical stagings (to understand its importance, it is enough to mention the names of Woody Allen, Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Irina Brook, Liliana Cavani, Guido De Monticelli, Damiano Michieletto, Leo Muscato, Franco Ripa di Meana, Peter Stein, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Franco Zeffirelli, Giorgio Strehler, Michael Hampe, Jonathan Miller, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Pier’Alli, Gilbert Deflo, Roberto Abbado, Marc Albrecht, Giovanni Antonini, Ottavio Dantone, Ádám Fischer, Fabio Luisi, Nicola Luisotti, Daniel Oren, Donato Renzetti, Christophe Rousset, Daniele Rustioni.
Such presence on the Scala billboard, alongside significant artistic activity in Italy and abroad, makes this journey unique in the world.