Merelli’s La Scala

Donald Macleod explores the beginnings of Verdi’s tempestuous relationship with Milan’s famous opera house – La Scala

As the hearse carrying the coffin of the composer Giuseppe Verdi travelled through Milan, more than half of the city’s population lined the streets to pay their respects and catch a final glimpse of their hero. Few musicians have made such an indelible impression on the population of a country, or become so linked to a nation's sense of identity. Fewer still have become as ingrained in the fabric of a city as Verdi is in Milan. Today, as well as a statue to the composer, both the Conservatoire and a major theatre are named after him. So how was this relationship, between the city of Milan and Verdi forged? After all, this was a man born in Le Roncole, which was then French territory, and yet he would rise to become the most successful Italian composer of his generation. Over the course of this week, Donald Macleod explores the twists and turns of Verdi’s relationship with Milan -where Verdi would see his first iconic successes, and where he would breathe his last, but also a city where, for a time, he tried to ban performances of his music.

In Tuesday’s programme, Donald dives into the world of the theatre, exploring what Milan’s famous opera house La Scala was like, and examines how Verdi – now a husband and a father – came to begin his tempestuous relationship with the theatre. Tragedy strikes and a new character enters Verdi’s life – La Scala’s impresario, Bartolomeo Merelli.

Rigoletto - “Bella figlia dell’amore”
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Rigoletto), tenor
Fiorenza Cossotto (Maddalena), mezzo-soprano
Renata Scotto (Gilda), soprano
Carlo Bergonzi (Il Duca), tenor
Teatro alla Scala
Rafael Kubelik, conductor

La Forza del Destino - Overture
Munich Philharmonic Orchestra
Sergiu Celibidache, conductor

Guarda che bianca luna: Notturno
Jennifer Larmore, mezzo-soprano
Bruce Ford, tenor
Alastair Miles, bass
Jaime Martin, flute
Antoine Palloc, piano

La seduzione
Paul Armin Edelmann, baritone
Friedrich Haider, piano

Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio - “Ah, sgombro e il loco alfin!”; “Eccolo! E desso!”
Francesca Lombardi Mazzilli (Leonora), soprano
Adrian Gans (Oberto), baritone
Manuela Custer (Cuniza), mezzo-soprano
Norman Reinhardt (Riccardo), tenor
Choir and Supplementary Choir of the Gießen Stadttheater
The Philharmonic Orchestra
Michael Hofstetter, conductor

Un giorno di regno - “Non vo’ quel vecchio”
Lucia Aliberti (Giulietta), soprano
Orchestra and Chorus Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi
Oleg Caetani, conductor

Producer: Sam Phillips