Thanks to Luchino Visconti

Fifty years after the death of Luchino Viscontithe La Scala Theatre pays tribute to one of the greatest intellectuals of the 20th century, both in Italy and internationally. A member of a renowned aristocratic family from Milan, Visconti has forged a deep and unbreakable bond with the Staircase, which has been a familiar sight since childhood thanks to the family stage and later became the setting for historic revolutions in theatre direction. The exhibition, held in the spaces of the Livia Simoni Library and with the spectacular staging by Margherita Palli, presents itself as a captivating treasure trove of images, a rigorous yet poetic visual journey that explores the priceless heritage preserved in the Scaliger archives.

Between sketches, fashion sketches, costumes e period photographs, the exhibition traces the key moments in his operatic career, beginning with the iconic productions he created with Maria Callas, such as The Vestal Virgin, La Sonnambula and the memorable La traviata from 1955, right up to masterpieces such as Mario and the Wizard, Anne Boleyn, Iphigenia in Tauris e Poliuto. The exhibition highlights the cultural impact of productions that successfully blend philological rigour with modernity, reviving interest in opera. From his Milanese family roots to his most recent, cut-short collaborations, the exhibition celebrates the maestro’s extraordinary artistic legacy and his profound sense of civic responsibility.