LA SCALA 093


and whatever was to be done had to feel not only modern, but timeless, a collage and synthesis of different times, different materials, different needs, and functions. By the turn of the century, sets had to be moved by hand; the hydraulic machinery installed in 1938 no longer worked properly. Tere was too little space to store sets between shows. Te list of problems facing the management was endless. Which makes it all the more amazing that the client came back for more and asked Botta to finish the job. And he accepted. Te work completed in 2004 included conserving the opera’s interiors, restoring original elements that had been abandoned or hidden over the


years, a much taller fly tower for stage sets, and a new elliptical building added. For the work undertaken between 2019 and 2023, a 17-storey structure, six floors of which are underground, has been added parallel to La Scala on the Via Giuseppe Verdi. At the base of this tower is an orchestra practice room, and on top is an airy dance studio. In between are new offices, storage and rehearsal space.


Having heard disaster proclaimed, the eventual result was that La Scala emerged from its own drama in remarkably good shape. Te renovation and enlargement emerged on time and on budget, at around £100m. It all ended happily ever after. To the critics’ astonishment


the musical director declared the acoustics fantastic, the mayor was happy, and the theatre’s general manager counted the takings. Continuity may be the leitmotif but the restored tiers of seating have an electronic libretto system on the backs that carry subtitles, while 15 boxes still display some original trappings, like frescoes and wall and ceiling mirrors. In a large second-tier box beside the stage, restoration work even uncovered a fireplace. Seating capacity was increased by 300, parquet flooring covered the main hall, and not only the stage but the entire backstage was rebuilt. Sophisticated scene-shifting machinery was installed, there were stage-size rehearsal rooms


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