Big round of applause for the soprano Anna Netrebko, the tenor Francesco Meli and the baritone Luca Salsi. They are the protagonists of “La Tosca”, the opera performed on the 6th of December at the La Scala theatre in Milan.
Standing ovation for the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, who was among the audience with his daughter.
The opening night was seen not only at the theatre, but also at the airport, in the city’s main square, at the cinema and in prison, thanks to the “Prima diffusa”, an initiative promoted by the Municipality of Milan and by Edison, together with La Scala theatre.
La Tosca was broadcasted live in 36 places around the city and also on radio and television.
It was a huge success. The opening night at La Scala was the most watched on tv. The live broadcast on Rai1 had an audience of about 2,850 million people with a share of 15%.
It was an important signal. It means that the opera is far from being dead. Just like it happened with vinyl records, sometimes cultural phenomena that we perceive as distant or outdated come back in vogue, with their signature features untouched by time.
Probably, some stages in our cultural innovation process – and music is certainly one of the most important – involve cycles of “death and rebirth”, which turn these stages into milestones of the world’s cultural heritage.