How to get tickets and see an Opera in the famous La Scala Opera house
Going to Milan and want La Scala Opera tickets? I got tickets and went to the opera, La Boheme! If seeing an opera in one of the most famous and acclaimed opera house is on your bucket list, then read on.
Going to Milan, Italy? See an opera!
When I began planning for my trip to Milan in March 2023, I fell upon the La Scale Opera House. The suggestion was to take a tour of La Scala. My husband and I are musicians and so we wanted to sit in the opera house and WATCH an opera. So I read up on how to get tickets.
Why researching where you are going is important.
I discovered in my research that tickets for an opera at La Scala go VERY fast. In fact if you don’t get tickets on the first day, it is quite difficult to get them. Well, you can get them, but I think it’s a lot less stressful if you can get them when they are available.
When I found out I needed to get my tickets on the day ticket sales opened, I marked it on my calendar. I wanted to get them right when the ticket office opened. I was ready.
Why knowing the time difference is important.
The date was November 21st, the day before the tickets would be on sale on La Scala Opera website at 10:00 am. In talking to my husband about purchasing the tickets the following day, he mentioned something about time zones. The time I was ready was to go on and get my tickets was 10:00 am eastern standard time. However, the La Scala Website is located in Milan, Italy which is 6 hours earlier than my location. This was a very important discovery as you will see.
The day to get the tickets had arrived.
We set our alarm for 3:50 am. Yikes! So early but so necessary! Our alarm went off and we went on to La Scala website. After finding the tickets page, we selected our seats. In clicking on the cart, it wouldn’t take our phone number. We tried several times and each time the seats had be changed because they were being taken. Nothing like being panicked at 4:00 am!
What were we to do? We didn’t know the US code digits. I think I tried looking that up on my phone but the answer I was given still didn’t work! So the idea came to call my daughter in Germany to help us. She didn’t answer, so we called her friend.
She agreed to us using her phone number for the site. We entered it and it worked, finally! We weren’t done, La Scala opera ticket site wanted to verify the phone number. She gave us the code and wallah, we finally had tickets to La Boheme in March!
My take aways from this experience are these:
- Know the opening ticket sale date on the La Scala Opera Website. As you can see, for me, tickets went on sale in November. For the ’24-’25 season tickets will go on sale September 24th.
- Know the US International Country Code. When I tried to use the +1 it didn’t work. That is because +1 is for dialing within the US. If you want to call overseas you must use 011 + country area code + phone number. So in the La Scala Website you would put 011 + your area code + your phone number.
- Know the time that tickets go on sale in your location. It seems that 10:00 am is the standard but make certain it is the opening time. Remember to subtract the hours for where you live. When I got my tickets it was in Day Light Saving Time so the time difference from Milan, Italy and where I live were 6 hours.
- Registering is required for first time ticket purchases. La Scala says this on the matter, “The registration of your name and surname, mailing and e-mail address, telephone number, date of birth is mandatory before you can proceed with your first purchase, however, this only needs to be done once.”
Now that I had my La Scala opera tickets, what will I wear?
With tickets in hand, I wanted to make sure I looked the part to attend an opera at one of the most famous opera houses in the world.
I feel when I go to a performance, I like to dress up. Going to the opera is a great excuse to get dressed up. I will tell you, however, that people wore all sorts of outfits. Even people in jeans!
La Scala Theater says, “They will ask you to leave if you are wearing shorts or sleeveless T-shirts. Tickets will not be reimbursed.
If I went to an opera in the US, I would dress up. It’s a great excuse to buy a new outfit! To the opera in Milan, Italy I wore a pink cocktail dress with heals. My husband wore a suit. We looked great at the opera. I didn’t feel over dressed as there were as many others dressed up as there were those dressed in casual clothes.
Watch the opera BEFORE you go, is a must!
I don’t know about you but it helps if I am familiar with the piece of music. It doesn’t matter what the musical even is, I pay attention better when I know what I am watching and listening to. Watching something in another language is another reason I want to be able to know the piece as I won’t understand it all regardless how many times I watch it!
How I prepared myself musically for the best experience.
First, I listened to it, a lot! I listened to La Boheme while running in the mornings. I also listened to it on the car when I was driving.
Second, I watched the opera. My husband chose the one with Mirella Freni as Mimì, Luciano Pavarotti as Rodolfo, Annarita Taliento as Musetta, Lucio Gallo as Marcello, Pietro Spagnoli as Schaunard, : Nicolai Ghiaurov as Colline. We watched it on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_1OtRt0_ho
The evening we saw La Boheme at La Scala.
We walked from our hotel to La Scala. It was just a few short blocks away. I was able to walk it, even in my heels. It was already dark when we arrived at the famous opera house. Walking into the lobby, the lobby was bright. The fancy molding was done in gold leafing. There were two glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The space looked like it was right out of the 1800’s. Many people crowded the space. All dressed in their own way.
We headed down a hallway. On one side were closed doors to the box seats and on the other side were openings for the coat room and restrooms. We found an opening on the right and walked through it. As we did we walked into the main hall space. To the left was the stage. The red curtain was down.
Looking around, everything was in red from the seats to the walls to the curtains.
The performance
I found my red cushioned seat to be quite comfortable. I could see the stage as the seats were sloped towards the stage. This matters to me as I am 5 feet tall. The back of the Seat in front of me was black. It also had a small rectangular screen asking if I wanted the opera subtitles in Italian or English. I picked English and my husband picked Italian.
There happened to be three intermissions. It was during the second intermission we were able to get drinks. Drinks were served back in the main lobby where we had entered. If you’re looking at the doors to go outside, it was on the left. Drinks were back in a room which you stood in line for.
I would say if you weren’t able to speak Italian, you could get away with going to La Scala without any problems. If you are in Milan in opera season, I highly recommend that you go! The opera was fantstic! The singers and the performers did such a good job tying their characters into the story. The sets were fantastic as well as the costumes. It is well worth the money and time to go.
If you have been to a La Scala opera in Milan, Italy, tell me about it!
