The La Scala Theatre's Academy of Improvement for Opera Singers boasts a long and prestigious history.
In fact, the creation of an ‘Improvement School for young opera singers’ by the then Superintendent Antonio Ghiringhelli and Arturo Toscanini dates back to 1946 and has been better known since 1953 as the Scuola dei Cadetti della Scala.
A School that forged great voices - the names of Luis Alva and Paolo Montarsolo suffice - revived in 1997 as the Accademia di perfezionamento per cantanti lirici thanks to Carlo Fontana and Riccardo Muti, who entrusted its direction to Leyla Gencer. Since the death of the great soprano, the names of Mirella Freni and Renato Bruson have appeared in the roll of directors.
Today it is Luciana D'Intino who holds the reins, flanked by artists and teachers of undisputed calibre who share the goal of accompanying young singers with a solid musical foundation to their professional careers over a rigorous two-year course. The programme is particularly intense, as the soloists' daily study is intertwined with their frequent participation in La Scala productions, in small roles, as well as a title that has been entrusted to them in its entirety since 2000 and included in the season, the Accademia Project, which also features the La Scala Academy Orchestra.
Over a period of two years, the students thus have the opportunity to constantly confront themselves on one of the world's most important stages with renowned performers, conductors and directors, both in new productions and in historical stagings. This presence on the La Scala programme, flanked by significant artistic activity in Italy and abroad, makes this course unique in the world, because if it is true that, in the classroom, the study of roles and in-depth study of the repertoire represent a fundamental moment for the development of technique, performing practice on stage is substantial not only to refine interpretative skills, but also to gain real professional experience.
Many of the former students now tread the boards of the major national and foreign theatres, including sopranos Serena Farnocchia, Carmen Giannattasio, Chiara Isotton, Anja Kampe, Irina Lungu, Nino Machaidze, Sae Kyung Rim, Pretty Yende, Federica Lombardi, Fatma Said; mezzo-sopranos Anna-Doris Capitelli, Caterina Piva, Anita Rachvelishvili, Nino Surguladze, Chiara Tirotta, Aya Wakizono; contralto Sonia Prina; tenors Francesco Castoro, Giuseppe Filianoti, Leonardo Cortellazzi, Azer Zada, Giovanni Sala, Chuan Wang; baritones Fabio Capitanucci, Massimo Cavalletti, Guido Loconsolo, Christian Senn, Vincenzo Taormina, Mikheil Kiria; basses Simon Lim and Jongmin Park.
Attendance at the Singing Academy is free of charge and students receive a monthly scholarship.
