Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Since the 19th century, La Scala Theater Orchestra has played important roles outside its main function of accompanying operas at the city's La Scala Opera House. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the orchestra has been led at one time or another by most of Italy's most prestigious conductors.
La Scala Theater Orchestra (Italian: Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala) was recognized for its exceptional quality as it performed at the world premiere of operas by Rossini and Verdi in the 19th century, originally with the first violinist, or, in the very early years, the harpsichordist, as the leader. The orchestra's first conductor was Alberto Mazzucato, who ascended the podium in 1854. His successor Franco Faccio instituted independent concerts in 1872, and the orchestra appeared in Paris during the Exposition Universelle in 1878, one of the first major world's fairs. That triumph led to the establishment of a Società Orchestrale della Scala, which put the group on a firmer institutional footing. Offering two concert seasons annually, the orchestra stimulated the growth of instrumental music in Italy, formerly heavily dominated by opera. The orchestra became self-governing in 1920, under the name Ente Autonomo del Teatro alla Scala. It engaged Arturo Toscanini as its conductor in 1920; he took the group on tour internationally, enlarged it to 100 members (it now boasts 135), and greatly raised its profile in the larger musical world. Toscanini remained music director until 1929 and was followed by some of the top conductors of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Victor de Sabata, Carlo Maria Giulini (principal conductor from 1954 to 1956, with many later appearances and recordings), Claudio Abbado (who led a reorganization that officially named the group the Philharmonic Orchestra of La Scala), Riccardo Muti (1987-2006), Daniel Barenboim, and, as of the early 2020s, Riccardo Chailly. The roster of guest conductors who have appeared over the years reads like a list of legends, including Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, and Valery Gergiev.
The orchestra's recording catalog stretches back into the 78 rpm era (digital reissues of some of its recordings under Toscanini are available on the RCA label) and includes some of the most famous opera recordings of all time. Under Barenboim, the orchestra recorded Verdi's Requiem for Decca in 2013 and has issued several other recordings of non-operatic works, including an album of Respighi's orchestral music under Chailly in 2020.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Puccini: Tosca by Maria Callas (Remastered 2022, Version 1953)
Maria Callas, Victor De Sabata, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Opera - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Oct 24, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Rigoletto
Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Don Carlos
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1966
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La Traviata
Renata Scotto, Ettore Bastianini, Gianni Raimondi, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Antonino Votto
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Il Turco in Italia
Cecilia Bartoli, Ramón Vargas, Michele Pertusi, Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Mar 2, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: I Puritani
Maria Callas, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Nov 18, 1987
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La forza del destino
Maria Callas, Carlo Tagliabue, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: La donna del lago
June Anderson, Martine Dupuy, Rockwell Blake, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Riccardo Muti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Aida
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Manon Lescaut
Maria Callas, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Madama Butterfly by Maria Callas (2023 Remastered, Milan 1955)
Maria Callas, Herbert von Karajan, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Jan 1, 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: La sonnambula
Maria Callas, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Antonino Votto
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1979
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: Norma (1954 - Serafin) - Callas Remastered
Maria Callas, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi : Macbeth
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1976
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Rigoletto
Renata Scotto, Carlo Bergonzi, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Rafael Kubelik
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1960
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi Requiem
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Il turco in Italia (1954 - Gavazzeni) - Callas Remastered
Maria Callas, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: La sonnambula (1957 - Votto) - Callas Remastered
Maria Callas, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Antonino Votto
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1993
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Requiem
Riccardo Muti, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano, Luciano Pavarotti
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jul 30, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo