The London Lounge

Next month I will be seeing Il Barbiere di Siviglia at La Scala. It will be the second night of the run and my seats are fairly high up in the auditorium. I assume black tie is not required but I just wanted to make sure. Also Milan in July will obviously be a bit warm to say the least. I would love to wear a dinner jacket but I don't want to be too over or underdressed. Any thoughts?

In principle wearing a dinner suit to the opera (in 2010) sounds adequate, but La Scala is a special place. It has an opinionated (mostly highly competent, too) and temperamental "core" audience that judges not only the performance, but also the "occasional" audience. The overdressed tend to be regarded as provincial or snobbish, not true opera lovers. So who decides what is "overdressed" in a non-operatic way? They do, of course, so you're never sure what to do, but black tie seems to be on the black list of the Scala diehards. You may allow yourself to be a bit more... boheme in your dress (without stepping into the countryside), even though it's not a Puccini night.

Kilted 2000,
according to the local tradition the only occasion in which a black tie is appropriate at La Scala is for La Scala's season traditional opening on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's Day, the feast day of Milan's patron saint. With the exception of the above and few other very formal celebration performances ,for which a black tie is expressely requested, for all the other normal occasions the wearing of a dinner suits appears very provincial( as already stated by Costi) and inelegant. A dark suit (blue or dark grey ) will be much more appropriate.

Angelo

angelo wrote:Kilted 2000,
according to the local tradition the only occasion in which a black tie is appropriate at La Scala is for La Scala's season traditional opening on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's Day, the feast day of Milan's patron saint. With the exception of the above and few other very formal celebration performances ,for which a black tie is expressely requested, for all the other normal occasions the wearing of a dinner suits appears very provincial( as already stated by Costi) and inelegant. A dark suit (blue or dark grey ) will be much more appropriate.

Angelo

It is probably true, if sad, that, nearly everwhere (except for very special occasions), this is true: formal and semi-formal dress give one an appearance of a Pooter or a Bovary...or of a de Maupassant 'hero'

angelo wrote:Kilted 2000,
according to the local tradition the only occasion in which a black tie is appropriate at La Scala is for La Scala's season traditional opening on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's Day, the feast day of Milan's patron saint. With the exception of the above and few other very formal celebration performances ,for which a black tie is expressely requested, for all the other normal occasions the wearing of a dinner suits appears very provincial( as already stated by Costi) and inelegant. A dark suit (blue or dark grey ) will be much more appropriate.

Angelo

It is probably true, if sad, that, nearly everwhere (except for very special occasions), uncalled-for formal and semi-formal dress give one an appearance of a Pooter or a Bovary...or of a de Maupassant 'hero', to be half-pointed at and slyly giggled over; possibly even by those of the regulars at these events, in their sweatshirts and trainers