Orchestra dell’Academia teatro alla Scala
Orchestra
Established as a Foundation in 2001, the actual history of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala goes back over two centuries, thanks to the Milanese opera theater’s longstanding commitment to education since 1813, when its Dance School was founded as one of the world’s leading institutions for dance instruction.
Currently presided over by Victor Massiah and directed by Luisa Vinci, the Accademia Teatro alla Scala is proud of having a world-class faculty composed of artists/ musicians and professionals from the Teatro alla Scala, alongside the most authoritative experts in live performance. Through four departments – Music, Dance, Stagecraft, and Management – and over thirty courses, the programs cover all professions related to musical theater. The extensive educational offer is structured into training courses, advanced training courses, first and second-level academic diploma courses affiliated with AFAM (Higher Education in Arts, Music, and Dance), which award qualifications equivalent to university degrees, as well as first-level Master’s degrees, workshops, and summer internships.
The teaching methodology, based on the philosophy of learning by doing, fosters successful professional integration through intense and daily on-the-job training, both on stage and behind the scenes.
Within its Music Department, the Advanced Course for Orchestra Musicians training stands out, supporting highly selected talented young musicians who wish to deepen their knowledge of the operatic, symphonic, and ballet repertoire as they embark on their professional orchestral careers. The course, which guarantees significant experiences under the guidance of the Principals of the La Scala Orchestra and renowned conductors, also includes a focus on the 20th-century and contemporary repertoire, as well as forays into chamber music literature.
The program spans two years, is tuition-free, and includes orchestral and ensemble rehearsals, individual instrument lessons, chamber music, and sectional rehearsals. It is complemented by significant artistic activities both in Italy and abroad. The orchestra has the opportunities to perform primarily at the Teatro alla Scala, hosting it annually for the “Accademia Project”, which include a fully staged opera production that also involves other students from the Academy such as the soloists from the Advanced Course for Opera Singers and the Advanced Course for Pianists (Accompanists). In addition, the Academy orchestra performs some productions at La Scala with its own Ballet Company and numerous orchestral concerts.
The orchestra’s repertoire includes works by Cimarosa, Salieri, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Humperdinck, Verdi, Puccini, Rota, as well as famous ballet titles by composers such as Adam, Hertel, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Massenet and Prokofiev. Conductors working with the orchestra have included artists such as Roberto Abbado, Marc Albrecht, Giovanni Antonini, Paolo Carignani, Gustavo Dudamel, Christoph Eschenbach, Diego Fasolis, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Iván Fischer, Ádám Fischer, Manfred Honeck, Fabio Luisi, Susanna Mälkki, Michele Mariotti, Zubin Mehta, Gianandrea Noseda, Daniel Oren, Evelino Pidò, Donato Renzetti, Yuri Temirkanov, Lorenzo Viotti, etc. Alongside these names, the orchestra has collaborated with various eminent soloists such as Francesco De Angelis, David Fray, Herbie Hancock, Olga Kern, Lang Lang, Andrea Lucchesini, Francesco Manara, Fabrizio Meloni, Simon Trpčeski, Alexei Volodin, etc.
Furthermore, during their studies, the orchestra musicians are given various opportunities to tackle the cornerstones of the modern repertoire and to learn the technique of performing works by contemporary composers. On these occasions the orchestra has worked with conductors who have distinguished themselves in this repertoire, including Giorgio Bernasconi, Francesco Angelico, Marco Angius, Tito Ceccherini, Michele Gamba, Kristjan Järvi, Wilson Hermanto, Susanna Mälkki, Georges-Elie Octors, Peter Rundel, Jonathan Stockhammer, etc. Under their guidance, the young musicians have performed in renowned venues and at prestigious music festivals, which included giving several Italian and world premières. In addition to participating in the Contemporary Music Festival of the Venice Biennale and the Euroradio concerts (broadcasted live on RadioRai 3 from the Cappella Paolina in the Quirinal Palace in Rome) as part of the “Concerts of the Quirinale” series, among the most significant experiences were the performances of Luca Francesconi’s opera “Quartett” at the Vienna Festwochen in 2012 under the direction of Peter Rundel and at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam in 2013, conducted by Susanna Mälkki.
It is also worth mentioning the fruitful collaboration with the Milano Musica Festival, which between 2013 and 2021 gave the Accademia musicians the opportunities performing works by Giorgio Battistelli, György Kurtág, Luca Francesconi, Magnus Lindberg, and Mauricio Kagel in prestigious venues such as Teatro alla Scala, Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Teatro Elfo Puccini, and Hangar Bicocca Pirelli. Equally fruitful was the collaboration with the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, where between 2021 and 2022, under the direction of Marco Angius, the Accademia musicians performed Schönberg “Pierrot Lunaire” and Wolfgang Rihm’s opera “Jakob Lenz” with its soloists as well as the Academy’s Choir and Children’s Choir. Finally, a special mention in regard to the experience performing at the Stresa Festival in 2018, under the direction of Kristjan Järvi and going on tour between Milan, Rome, and Reggio Emilia under the direction of Peter Rundel for the performances of Frank Zappa’s “The Yellow Shark”.
