Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

More than 40 theatres, places of culture and institutions, city spaces and unconventional venues for over 80 concerts, performances, exhibitions and reviews, conferences and free meetings. For 7 December 34 screenings simultaneously with the Teatro alla Scala Complete program on yesmilano.it/primadiffusa — Download full program

Milan, November 23 2021 — The Municipality of Milan together with Edison, from 1 to 12 December, will bring to the city the opera that inaugurates the 2021/2022 season of the Teatro alla Scala, Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi, directed by Davide Livermore.

"Prima diffusion" - suspended only in 2020 due to the pandemic - therefore returns to accompany Milan in the week preceding the Prima della Scala with over 80 initiatives including concerts, performances, readings, meetings and conferences, exhibitions and reviews dedicated to the opera, involving more than 40 places of Milanese culture and symbolic city spaces present in all 9 municipalities. An involvement of the entire community that grows until December 7, the day on which the "Prima" will be performed on the stage of the Teatro alla Scala and will be broadcast live in 34 spaces in the nine municipalities and also in the metropolitan area.

In these ten years "Prima diffusion" has grown more and more, involving over 200.000 spectators, 80 city spaces with more than 200 events (the map of these ten years of live screenings).

In this tenth edition, ten thousand seats will be available in the 34 screening rooms, one thousand more than the last edition (2019).

"Prima widespread was, in the last ten years, one of the first major projects of cultural participation and social inclusion, which paved the way for other highly successful initiatives that continue to ignite the city on various themes - declared the councilor to Culture Tommaso Sacchi -. The collaboration with the Teatro alla Scala, the partnership with Edison and the participation of Rai have made it possible to transform the Prima della Scala into an event for everyone, and not just for those in the theatre. And for ten years later, the idea of ​​sharing such an important and heartfelt event, which turns the spotlight on Milan around the world, by an entire city that experiences it as a single, large public, continues to excite me."

"When in 1951 Victor De Sabata moved the date of the inauguration of the Season from 26 to 7 December, the day of Sant'Ambrogio, he sanctioned a pact between Milan and its theatre. The same alliance was reaffirmed by the enthusiasm of Paolo Grassi, who brought La Scala in the city and the city at La Scala through the Cultural Promotion Service, and is renewed today through projects for the diffusion of musical culture in the territory. Among these 'Prima Diffusa' of which we are celebrating the tenth edition together with the Municipality of Milan, Rai and Edison , is a virtuous example of collective participation to be developed also in other periods of the year, as we did with “La Scala in città” at the beginning of the summer", declares the Superintendent of the Teatro alla Scala Dominique Meyer.

"Edison is a responsible energy operator that is committed to the sustainable development of the communities in which it operates – states Cristina Parenti, Senior vice president Communication & external relations of Edison –. We are very satisfied and proud to be once again alongside the Municipality of Milan and the Theater at La Scala in the organization and promotion of Prima Difesa. A unique cultural event in the world, in which we have always believed since its first edition in 2011. Prima Difesa is an excellent example of sustainable development through the valorisation of cultural heritage and is inspired by Universal Declaration of Human Rights according to which every individual has the right to freely take part in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to participate in scientific progress and its benefits".

"Rai continues in its mission of disseminating the national cultural heritage - says the director of Rai Cultura Silvia Calandrelli -. This year too Rai Cultura will broadcast the opening evening of the Opera Season of the Teatro alla Scala live on Rai 1, but also on RaiPlay, on Radio3, in Europe on the Euroradio circuit and on television and in cinemas all over the world. To this commitment is added, for the tenth year, also the work on the territory together with the Theater and the Municipality of Milan to make accessible the Premiere also in the cinemas and cultural spaces of the city of Milan. Premiere broadcast is a further step in the collaboration with La Scala that Rai has continued for over 40 years".

The live screenings of the inaugural opera of the La Scala season are confirmed at the center of "Prima difficile" 2021, in collaboration with Teatro alla Scala and Rai, which takes care of the filming and broadcast live on Rai 1 and via satellite. Thirty-four screening locations in the nine city municipalities and outside the city. There are numerous symbolic places such as the Milano Opera prison theatre, the Puntozero Beccaria theater at the Cesare Beccaria penal institute for minors and the San Vittore prison; but also the "Enzo Jannacci" hospitality house, the Charity House, Malpensa Airport, Mudec, WOW Comic Space, Made in Corvetto, Urban Cultural Sea and others.

All screenings are preceded by listening guides by the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in live or recorded form, which will provide the public with an explanation of the opera and will guarantee its understanding even for spectators who are new to the opera genre. Entry to the live broadcast venues is free with reservations required.

At Macbeth's Castle is the event that inaugurates Prima diffuse 2021 and will be held at Castello Sforzesco on 1 December at 18pm. It is a theatricalized listening guide, conceived and curated by the Accademia Teatro alla Scala based on the opera of Macbeth with the participation of the professor and musicologist Fabio Sartorelli, enriched by pieces chosen and performed by young actors and by the young soloists of the Academy of specialization for opera singers of the Teatro alla Scala.

Among the new features of the 2021 program also the show Macbeth Unplugged by Tournée da bar with Davide Lorenzo Palla and Irene Timpanaro and the live musical accompaniment of Tiziano Cannas Aghedu, staged on three different evenings at Santeria Paladini 8, at the Spirit de Milan and the urban cultural sea. In this drama, called "the Scottish tragedy" by actors, comic, lyrical and dramatic moments alternate in which the audience is directly involved and accompanied by the actors into the secrets hidden between the lines of this great Shakespearean classic.

On December 2nd at 18pm the opera recital is scheduled at the Cineteca Milano at the Interactive Museum of Cinema, with the extraordinary participation of Neri Marcorè, the soloists of the Academy of specialization for opera singers of the Teatro alla Scala who will pay homage to the operas of Giuseppe Verdi's first compositional season.

To celebrate ten years of the event, on the afternoon of 3 December, at the headquarters of the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala in via Santa Marta, it will be possible to visit the exhibition "Accademia Aperta - Ten years of widespread premiere". The exhibition itinerary retraces the salient phases of the event from 2011 to today, through photographic material, video collages, costumes and props. The exhibition will also be accompanied by a theatrical "hair and makeup" demonstration to bring the public closer to the behind the scenes of a show. Another special exhibition, "Si colmi il calice", is organized by WOW Spazio comic in viale Campania and is dedicated to the most important comic transpositions of Shakespeare's tragedy and Verdi's opera. At the MIC Cinema Room, at the Interactive Cinema Museum, the film festival "Macbeth and other Shakespearean titles" offers 2 films, film adaptations of Shakespeare's works, from 23 to 23 December.

This edition of Prima diffusion also delves into the debate on social sustainability and inclusion which are two founding values ​​of the "Prima diffusion" concept. In particular, two meetings open to the public will take place: the first, "From Don Giovanni to Macbeth, ten years of the premiere in the city between inclusion and sustainability", will be held on 2 December at 18pm at the Puntozero Beccaria Theater at the penal institute for minors Cesare Beccaria and the Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Milan, Tommaso Sacchi, and the Superintendent and Artistic Director of the Teatro alla Scala, Dominique Meyer, will take part, moderated by Edoardo Vigna, deputy director of Sette. On 9 December at the MUDEC Auditorium, a round table will take place with the professionals of the latest generation of the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala to discuss the themes of sustainable development applied to culture and artistic productions, with the participation of the set designer Valentina Volpi, the costume designer, set designer and director Gianluca Falaschi, the manager of buildings and systems maintenance of the Teatro alla Scala Mario Pan and the light designer Valerio Tiberi. Moderator of the meeting: Maria Elena Zanini (Corriere della Sera).

Complete programme, list of screening locations and information available on yesmilano.it/primadiffusa.