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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Rossini: Guglielmo Tell
Giorgio Zancanaro, Cheryl Studer, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Riccardo Muti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: Norma
Maria Callas, Christa Ludwig, Franco Corelli, Nicola Zaccaria, Tullio Serafin, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Un ballo in maschera
Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Antonino Votto
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Mar 18, 1987
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi : Il Trovatore
Ettore Bastianini, Antonietta Stella, Fiorenza Cossotto, Carlo Bergonzi, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Guglielmo Tell (Highlights)
Riccardo Muti, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Aug 11, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: 10 Overtures
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1996
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
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Riccardo Muti
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Fanciulla del West (La Fille du Far West)
Birgit Nilsson, Joao Gibin, Andrea Mongelli, Lovro von Matacic, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Bohème - Puccini
Maria Callas, Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi · La traviata
Antonietta Stella, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Tullio Serafin, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on Apr 25, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Opera Choruses & Ballet Music
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Claudio Abbado, Nicolaï Ghiaurov, Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano, Romano Gandolfi, Giulio Bertola
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leoncavallo: I Pagliacci
Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, Juan Pons, Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Georges Prêtre
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The World's Greatest Orchestras - Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Jan 23, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Amata dalle tenebre
Anna Netrebko, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Nov 5, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Gioconda
Maria Callas, Antonino Votto, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Aug 19, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Die Walküre (Remaster)
Herbert von Karajan, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Opera - Released by Nar Classical on Feb 27, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini La Sonnambula
Maria Callas, Antonino Votto, Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: Beatrice di Tenda
Opera - Released by Urania Records on Oct 1, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi Choruses
Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Feb 17, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ponchielli: La Gioconda, Op. 9
Maria Callas, Antonino Votto, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Aug 19, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo