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La Scala: 15 facts about the great Milan opera house
For more than 200 years the greatest singers from all over the world have aspired to sing at La Scala. Maria Callas made her official debut at La Scala in Verdi's I vespri siciliani in December 1951, and the theatre became her artistic home throughout the 1950s. It mounted many new productions especially for her, by directors such as Franco Zeffirelli and Luchino Visconti. Visconti stated later that he began directing opera only because of Callas.