La Scala becomes an “autonomous” theatre

Teatro alla Scala, Milano

The Ministry of Culture of the Monti Government has granted Teatro alla Scala recognition of its management autonomy which it requested a long time ago. Already in the Nineteen Twenties Arturo Toscanini hoped that la Scala would be considered a theatre “in its own right” within the Italian scenario. The recognition of autonomy arrives today, with the Superintendency of Stéphane Lissner and the Musical Directorship of Daniel Barenboim, as a result of seven consecutive years of balanced budgets, a strong increase in the musical offer (on average the curtain went up 280 times each season), in audience figures (450,000 people a year, 80,000 of whom under 30) and contributions from the private sector (more than € 30,000,000 a year).