La Scala

(Teatro della Scala)

MILAN: By some stroke of fortune my host in Milan, Franca Cavagnoli scored two tickets to La Scala – Milan’s legendary opera house – for the Saturday night I was in town. I was thrilled, and did my best to dress up for the occasion, though my efforts seemed hopeless given where I was (!).

When the orchestra (the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundunks conducted by Mariss Jansons) started up, the room was positively drenched in frisson – the opening piece was Also Sprach Zarathustra, by Richard Strauss, familiar to late twentieth century listeners as the opening theme from Stanley Kubrik’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The crescendo of the timpanies at the outset brought tears to my eyes, before the exaltant, if ominous horn section soared through the roof. The piece was played in a quicker tempo to the version in the Kubrik film.

The second piece was a slow movement (Vorspiel und Liebestod) from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde – which was certainly beautiful (usually my type of music) but which for some reason seemed the least invigorating piece on the night.

Finally, a crazy piece by Bartok (Der Wunderbare Manderin), which involved much mad percussion from the string section striking the backs of their bows on their instruments with gusto.

The evening was one of those occasions on which I wished I had a million dollars so I could share it with all my friends and family. In light of this, I’m going to try my damndest to pick up some cheap tickets to the opera when Em and I are in Vienna.