Prima Diffusa 2023: the opera comes to the Collegio

As every year, the city Milan lights up thanks to Prima Diffusa, a project by Edison, a member of our Foundation, in collaboration with the La Scala Opera House and the Municipality of Milan. On Thursday, December 7 at 6:00 PM the inaugural evening of the opera season (“Prima della Scala”) will be broadcast in various locations throughout Milan. The idea was born from the desire to allow the general public to attend the premiere, which has inaugurated the new season on the day of Sant’Ambrogio, patron Saint of the city, every year since 1951. This year Collegio di Milano will be among the places involved in the initiative: our Auditorium will open its doors for a unique experience. The participation is free of charge and while seats last. Before the boradcast, there will be a listening guide curated by the Accademia Teatro alla Scala at 4:30 PM.

For more information, consult the program.

This year the Season will be opened by Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo, conducted by Maestro Riccardo Chailly and directed by Lluìs Pasqual. On stage is a cast that boasts well-known and beloved names, with René Pape in the role of Philip II, Anna Netrebko as Elizabeth of Valois and Francesco Meli in the central role of Don Carlo.

Don Carlo was presented for the first time in 1867, between La Forza del Destino (1862) and Aida (1871). In 1886 Verdi transformed it into a work of five acts and no longer four, with a wider scope given to the orchestra parts.

Based on the tragedy of the same name by Friedrich Schiller with scenes inspired by the drama Philippe II, Roi d’Espagne by Eugène Cormon, it tells the harsh clash between father, Philip II of Spain, and son, Don Carlo, but also the conflict between State and Church and between different political visions.