This winter, La Scala Square will feature two new exhibitions:Perugino’s “The Baptism of Christ” hosted by Palazzo Marino from Dec. 5 to Jan. 14, 2024, while Teatro alla Scala will exhibit“Fantasmagoria Callas” from Nov. 17 to April 30, 2024.
Perugino’s Baptism of Christ at Palazzo Marino
At Christmas, Palazzo Marino is transformed into a temple of beauty thanks to The Baptism of Christ by Perugino, on loan from the National Gallery of Umbria.
From Dec. 5 to Jan. 14, 2024, Sala Alessi is dressed in Christmas atmosphere thanks to ascenic installation. The original structure of the polyptych, in which the Baptism was a central work, comes to life digitally, giving not only the vision of Perugino’s masterpiece, but also the magic of an animated reconstruction of the entire complex.
As every year, the exhibition is free admission with tours led by art historians, to fully immerse oneself in the world of Renaissance art and Perugino in the year of celebrations for the five-hundredth anniversary of his death.
In the city’s other eight city halls , area libraries will host works from the Galleria d’Arte Moderna and the Museo del Novecento in Milan from December 11 to January 5, 2024.
Callas phantasmagoria at the Museo Teatrale alla Scala
The myth of Maria Callas told in an unprecedented exhibition project by five protagonists of the contemporary art scene: Giorgio Armani, Alvin Curran, Latifa Echakhch, Mario Martone and Francesco Vezzoli.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of her birth, Teatro alla Scala pays tribute to Maria Callas with an exhibition designed to celebrate her legend, evoking the indelible imprint she left on the collective imagination. The legacy of the soprano, who knew how to combine singing and acting in a unique blend that consigned her to history as a timeless icon, is the protagonist of an exhibition that restores the portrait of a complete artist, deeply linked to the history of La Scala, which saw her perform 23 opera titles in 28 performances from 1950 to 1961, including six season openings.
The exhibition tour then dives into the five-voice score designed for the occasion and opened by the intervention of musician and composer Alvin Curran. It continues withartist Latifa Echakhch‘s installation, which delves into the aspect of Maria Callas’ stage presence.
The third chapter of the exhibition is narrated by director Mario Martone, who focuses on the meeting between Maria Callas and Ingeborg Bachmann, which took place in Milan in 1956 during a rehearsal of La Traviata. This is followed by an interpretation byartist Francesco Vezzoli, who presents an installation where Maria Callas’ face, laser-printed on canvas, is repeated sixty-three times. The exhibition itinerary closes with the interpretation of fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who declines Maria Callas’ voice in visual form. Created for the 2021 Giorgio Armani Privé collection, the magenta-red evening gown presented in the exhibition combines fabric and body in a representation of intensity and grace.
“Fantasmagoria Callas” opens with a selection of costumes that the soprano wore over time, currently preserved at the Teatro alla Scala Historical Archives. They testify to the influence that Maria Callas has always exerted on the arts the brown silk dress made by Pietro Zuffi for Alceste and the two costumes designed by Nicola Benois for Poliuto and Don Carlo, up to the one painted by Salvatore Fiume for Medea in 1953. The Theatre Tailoring course of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala paid tribute to Maria Callas by reconstructing two of the costumes that the soprano wore in La traviata signed by Luchino Visconti for the 1954/’55 season, designed by Lila de Nobili and lost under unclear circumstances. The costumes on display were made by drawing on iconographic material from the La Scala Archives and the direct testimony of Anna Gastel-Chiarelli, the director’s niece.
