# How did you get your La Scala tickets?



## MozartMan310 (Apr 5, 2016)

Has anyone been to La Scala and can offer ticket buying tips? I'd rather buy direct and not from ticket brokers/scalpers.

Mille grazie!

Tom


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

MozartMan310 said:


> Has anyone been to La Scala and can offer ticket buying tips? I'd rather buy direct and not from ticket brokers/scalpers.
> 
> Mille grazie!
> 
> Tom


Hi Tom and welcome to the forum.

I haven't been to La Scala but there are members who have and I'm sure they'll be able to help.


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## MozartMan310 (Apr 5, 2016)

Hi sospiro from UK.
Have you been to the Royal Opera House? Is it hard to get tickets?

Tom


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

MozartMan310 said:


> Has anyone been to La Scala and can offer ticket buying tips? I'd rather buy direct and not from ticket brokers/scalpers.
> 
> Mille grazie!
> 
> Tom


Hello Tom.
I do receive the newsletter from La Scala and I am pretty sure that the have a link to their ticket office, can't find it now but I will keep a eye on it for you :tiphat:


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## MozartMan310 (Apr 5, 2016)

danke u Pugg.
Do you go to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam? How's the tickets situation there?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

MozartMan310 said:


> danke u Pugg.
> Do you go to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam? How's the tickets situation there?


I went last weak to see Renée Fleming :angel:
Normally if you know what you want to see / hear you can get tickets, however, I do have friends in Amsterdam who lives nearly next door so that helps as well


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## MozartMan310 (Apr 5, 2016)

Pugg said:


> I went last weak to see Renée Fleming :angel:


Very nice. What did Renée sing? I saw her in "Capriccio" in Chicago two years ago. I think the Concertgebouw Orchestra is my favorite orchestra in the world (more than Berlin and Vienna Phil). Here in L.A. I go to the Disney Concert Hall all the time.

Tom


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Mr Man You need to get going on the internet, nearly all Opera houses offer tickets that way. 

Sadly I have never been to see music in Amsterdam but the real answer is ...it all depends. Netrebko tickets will go fast, but for a revival of Seraglio you will probably be able to buy tickets on the day as long as you don't mind what you pay or where you sit. I have bought tickets to La Scala and La Fenice from their box offices after arriving in town the day before. 

If you are in London for some time you may consider joining the Friends, this will allow you to book before the general public and to attend some rehearsals. I know other cities have similar organisations.

Good luck.


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

Hi Tom

Quite easy to get la Scala tickets (box office, online, by phone, by sales agencies). Usually they open the sales two months before the opening performance of each opera/ballet of the season, for all performances. 
Here you can find the sales calendar.
http://www.teatroallascala.org/en/box-office/book-office.html

I usually buy online or at the box office (I live in Milan). If you want the get the lowest prices, you'll have to look for the "ScalAperta" performances, one for almost each opera, where tickets are sold at 50%.

The two galleries up in the sky have the cheapest tickets, but there the seats are really uncomfortable, particularly if you are tall and big (I am 1.90m / 105kg). Moreover, if you don't get a central seat in the first row, the stage view is quite bad.
I usually go for the boxes or the stalls.
The seats I like most are those in the central boxes, first row. They also are very expensive but I usually try to go at the ScalAperta performances. The Royal Box is not for sale but for invitation only.
Alternatively I go for the stalls, trying to get a seat close to the central aisle. The seats close to the central aisle have double armrest. I'm getting old and I need to feel comfortable when I go to the theatre 

You can also buy standing tickets on the spot, the same day of the performance, but you'll have to queue up for some hours. These tickets are for the "loggione", the upper gallery, and you have to stand behind the reserved rows. _Close to heaven_ as they say the "loggionisti", the people of the loggione (have you seen "Les Enfants du paradis" by Marcel Carné? - wonderful movie)
When I was much younger and with a very limited budget for my evenings, this was my favorite way to go to La Scala...those times have definitely gone for me...


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

GioCar said:


> Hi Tom
> 
> Quite easy to get la Scala tickets (box office, online, by phone, by sales agencies). Usually they open the sales two months before the opening performance of each opera/ballet of the season, for all performances.
> Here you can find the sales calendar.
> ...


Fantastic post, thank you. Like you age and gravity have moved me down the Opera house!
Les enfants du paradis, indeed.

Would you consider expanding this and starting an 'Opera in Milan' thread, Similar to the 'Opera in London' or 'Opera in Budapest'?

There's so much I would like to know. We only had 24hrs in Milan and I recall walking with joy through the Galleria but on my next visit I will want to know:

Where is Verdi's Musicians rest home?
The hotel in which he died? Can you hire that room (spooky)?
Are there Café's he frequented?
What else is a must see for the Opera lover?

I cheated slightly in my post above. It was September and the Opera season had not started so we went to a concert. After the interval I returned to find the 'lady' who had been standing behind me was now very comfortable in my seat and reluctant to move. She was pretending not to understand my desperate attempts to communicate in her language, but seeing the surprise on her face when my wife spoke to her in Italian without an accent, priceless.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Just a little to add to GoiCar's knowledgeable post. Different operas/productions have very different ticket demand. Earlier this year the Rigoletto run was packed whereas the next production, Händel's Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, had tickets spare in abundance, with very good deals as a result.

If you know your date in advance, check when internet ticket sales open - the day AND the hour. For the Gallerias (best value) you'll have to be very quick i.e. within minutes of internet sales open, to get a good seat. Make sure you're already a registered user. If you have €300 to spend on a stalls seat, you can relax. Availability seems good in advance.


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## MozartMan310 (Apr 5, 2016)

I went to the La Scala website to check available tickets in different sections of the house. In Palco/Balcony there are 3 rows and 4 zones. Where are these 'zones' relative to the center? The prices seem on par with the big U.S. opera houses... $250-$350. 

Tom


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

MozartMan310 said:


> Hi sospiro from UK.
> Have you been to the Royal Opera House? Is it hard to get tickets?
> 
> Tom


Yes I go to ROH. I have membership (Friend) which gives me priority booking and enables me to buy tickets for the final dress rehearsal of some operas. Even with 'A' List stars though you should be able to get tickets even if you're not a Friend.

I understand ROH will announce the 2016/2017 season tomorrow.

I've been to several European opera houses and it's usually quite easy to book online. Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam is very easy and the English version of the website is comprehensive so there're are no worries about translation. Also been to the Concertgebouw and booked tickets on line. It's fabulous.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

For La Scala, this will be useful. You can see the view and location of every seat.

http://sitzplatzvorschau.de/teatro_alla_scala_milano


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Belowpar said:


> Would you consider expanding this and starting an 'Opera in Milan' thread, Similar to the 'Opera in London' or 'Opera in Budapest'?
> 
> There's so much I would like to know. We only had 24hrs in Milan and I recall walking with joy through the Galleria but on my next visit I will want to know:
> 
> ...


Hopefully GioCar will start a thread 'Opera in Milan' but until then:

Casa di Riposo per Musicisti aka Casa Verdi is easy to get to. I went on the Metro and it's not far. Verdi's crypt is also there but it is primarily a rest home.

I don't know if you can visit the room where Verdi died and I don't know about Café's he frequented.

Last time I was in Milan I visited Mantova (direct train from Centrale) where the opera film Rigoletto a Mantova with Domingo had been filmed. Casa di Rigoletto (my avatar) is a tourist office. I also took the train to Bergamo (Donizetti's birthplace) and there's a nice little museum there. It takes a bit of finding but it's got original manuscripts etc.



Belowpar said:


> I cheated slightly in my post above. It was September and the Opera season had not started so we went to a concert. After the interval I returned to find the 'lady' who had been standing behind me was now very comfortable in my seat and reluctant to move. She was pretending not to understand my desperate attempts to communicate in her language, but seeing the surprise on her face when my wife spoke to her in Italian without an accent, priceless.


Nice one, that must have been extremely rewarding!!!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Don Fatale said:


> For La Scala, this will be useful. You can see the view and location of every seat.
> 
> http://sitzplatzvorschau.de/teatro_alla_scala_milano


Thanks. That's very useful.


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

Belowpar said:


> Would you consider expanding this and starting an 'Opera in Milan' thread, Similar to the 'Opera in London' or 'Opera in Budapest'?


Well, I'm not really an opera fan. I mean I do like opera (Wagner, Mozart, Strauss, Puccini, Verdi - the late operas and Rigoletto, Modern/Contemporary and some renaissance/baroque operas) but I'm more on the concert side. I possibly go twice/three times a year to see an opera at La Scala while I go to concerts much more often. And I have very little interest in bel canto in itself.
Not sure I'm the right guy for this task.
_
Where is Verdi's Musicians rest home?_
Less than 15 minutes walk from where I live 
Undeground station Buonarroti, red (No.1) line

_The hotel in which he died? Can you hire that room (spooky)?_
Grand Hotel et de Milan, suite 105 (Verdi suite). AFAIK you can book it. Very expensive.

_Are there Café's he frequented?_
Pasticceria Confetteria Cova, once just beside La Scala (now in via Monte Napoleone, in the Fashion District)









_What else is a must see for the Opera lover?_ 
Have you visited the La Scala Museum?


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## MozartMan310 (Apr 5, 2016)

sospiro said:


> I've been to several European opera houses and it's usually quite easy to book online.


Really? Even Bayreuth? 
I hear it's a 10-year wait...

Thanks for all the La Scala info. You guys are great.

Tom


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

MozartMan310 said:


> Really? Even Bayreuth?
> I hear it's a 10-year wait...


Never been, never tried to book Bayreuth, although I understand it's easier these days.

Confession time - don't like Wagner.


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

Don Fatale said:


> ...
> If you know your date in advance, check when internet ticket sales open - the day AND the hour. For the Gallerias (best value) you'll have to be very quick i.e. within minutes of internet sales open, to get a good seat. Make sure you're already a registered user. If you have €300 to spend on a stalls seat, you can relax. Availability seems good in advance.


Oh yes, I can confirm that! The fastest wins! 
But I've also discovered that if you try again one hour later, you might have some more chances to get a good seat in the Gallerias. This is because once you book a seat, you have one hour time to finalise your booking with the payment. The "expired" ones go on sale again, so if you are lucky you might see a good seat miraculously "reappearing" in the seat plan...


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Thank you GioCar. I have just worked out it's been 27 years! Next time it will be for the Opera. Yes we did visit the museum. We had just spent two weeks backpacking from Verona to Venice and then via the Lakes to Milan. We felt very scruffy inside the hallowed walls!

If we can rename this thread we have the basic information on Milan?


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## MozartMan310 (Apr 5, 2016)

sospiro said:


> Confession time - don't like Wagner.


Having attended a few Wagner society events, I found that most Wagner lovers don't like other, non-German operas, and most general opera lovers don't particularly like Wagner.

I am weird in that I love both belcanto and Wagner operas equally. Been to Pesaro's Rossini Opera Festival and hope to visit Bayreuth (and La Scala!) someday.

Tom


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

I've been toying with starting an "Opera in Italy" thread. I'm by no means an expert, but have been fortunate to visit a smattering of Italian venues over the past few years, with another few on tap for this summer. I'll get right on that.

As far as La Scala, I've made four visits and purchased tickets online via the La Scala website each time. I've generally been late to the party for the galleria seats, and end up picking among the expensive scraps. On our first visit in 2011, stalls seats (main floor) seemed a 'reasonable' splurge at 180 euros, but last year they were approaching twice that and out of the question. So we were left strategizing on box positions that offered that best compromise between visibility and affordability. Be forewarned that many of the box seats along the sides of 'horseshoe' have little to no direct visibility of the stage. I'll post a few links on my box seat experiences. 

Tickets bought online are snail-mailed, and it's pretty exciting when that envelope embossed with La Scala's emblem finally arrives in the mailbox. I've had no problems with my online purchases. In fact, the one time when we did have galleria tickets, for an undersold La Scala Philharmonic concert in mid-July, the usher offered us a free upgrade, to 3rd row center of the stalls!


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Links on La Scala experiences as promised:

http://www.talkclassical.com/20967-opera-trips-8.html#post385272

http://www.talkclassical.com/20967-opera-trips-21.html#post913792


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

MozartMan310 said:


> I went to the La Scala website to check available tickets in different sections of the house. In Palco/Balcony there are 3 rows and 4 zones. Where are these 'zones' relative to the center? The prices seem on par with the big U.S. opera houses... $250-$350.
> 
> Tom


The zones are various price ranges, not a physical area. Within a single box there may be five different price zones. This isn't clear from the initial "best available" ticket order page that shows a table of ticket prices, but clicking the "seating chart" link at the top or bottom of the page and you can select from a map of available seats, color coded by price zone.


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## MozartMan310 (Apr 5, 2016)

Cavaradossi said:


> Tickets bought online are snail-mailed, and it's pretty exciting when that envelope embossed with La Scala's emblem finally arrives in the mailbox.


I assume they (U.K. and Europe) don't do "Will-Call" like here in the U.S.?


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

MozartMan310 said:


> I assume they (U.K. and Europe) don't do "Will-Call" like here in the U.S.?


I believe they do Will-Call only if the purchase is made less than 14 days before the performance. All the other Italian houses I bought tickets from had a handy "print-at-home" option, but not La Scala.


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