La Scala premiere in San Vittore prison amid overcrowding and cold

Over the years, the 'Prima a San Vittore' has become one of the most heartfelt appointments for a Milan that lives in prison and frequents it, in the commitment of civil society, in the efforts of entrepreneurs who take an interest in prison and have done so for this evening as well, donating rice, bubbly, coffee and all the ingredients of the buffet offered after the Scala and between the various acts.

"Bringing the city into this evening means making the prison known to the outside world and at the same time giving the inmates the signal," explains director Palù, "that there is an outside reality that is attentive to their needs. One cannot think of the prison as a reality isolated from the rest of the context'.

And it is precisely in the bridge between inside and outside that the profound spirit of the constitutional function of punishment rests. The guests are well aware of this, starting with the members of the Quartieri Tranquilli association, founded by journalist Lina Sotis, who also included the serraglio of via Filangieri, to quote the songs of the old Milanese mala, in the solidarity addresses of those who do not want to be indifferent.

There are none of the long dresses, sequins or velvet dinner jackets of the Piermarini theatre, but among the chairs reserved for a representation of the 74 women inmates here is Laura, who has chosen to wear her lurex jumper, her friend who has gathered her pigtails into a hairstyle and confesses that she is 'thrilled for the chance to attend the opera'.

The thwarted love of Leonora and Álvaro, the hostilities of fate over their union, reach through the power of music the many young people incarcerated here, who are now witnessing an opera for the first time.

'Exciting' is the most recurring adjective. Cheikh uses it, 'even though it is music far from my taste', he admits; his musician friend, Leduar, uses it as he pauses to reflect on destiny 'and the fact that we are the makers of our own story', he says, while drinking a cup of tea during the first intermission.

In the gallery of the first ray, stories about the chronic criticalities of the prison world and those specific to San Vittore now - the bitter cold of the Milanese winter; the overcrowding of the most critical sections, such as that of new arrivals and young adults; the loneliness of more and more foreign inmates, who have no outside network; the spread of psychiatric problems; the insufficient number of staff; the too many who remain in prison due to the lack of places where they can finish serving their sentences outside - all combine with the awareness of the enormous efforts of those who try, in spite of everything, to make living conditions as dignified as possible. It also allows the beauty of special evenings to enter. "There are agents of the Prison Police who have been on duty since this morning", says the director, who publicly thanks their self-sacrifice and speaks of the "fundamental osmosis between the inside and the outside".

The initiatives of a company that is very attentive to the needs of the prison world contribute decisively to this. To which it dedicates time and to which it sends parcels of used clothing or financial donations. Over 8,500 euros were collected in a short time by the Sesta Opera San Fedele, for the purchase of new clothes to be distributed among the inmates to combat the cold emergency.

In the first interval, guests are offered tea and biscuits by female prisoners attending vocational training courses in collaboration with A&I cooperativa sociale Onlus and the Amerigo Vespucci Hotelier Institute. And as in the most classic Milanese tradition, at the end of the opera, the post-Staircase dinner is served, based on risotto and panettone. On the flyers, affixed to the walls of the first ray, the administration thanks the companies (Berlucchi Brothers Farm; Coop Lombardia: Esselunga; Tenute Frescobaldi; Rice Company 'Quanto srl') that have supported and contributed once again this year to the organisation of an event that has become part of Milan's customs.

The applause from La Scala, amplified by the loudspeakers near the big screen, mingles with the equally roaring applause of the 150 guests in the rotunda of San Vittore. Not-so-distant screams 'accompany' at one point the high notes of the opera's protagonists, which fail to cover the echo of the dull thud of fists slammed against the blindo of a cell in the sixth ray. "An inmate who wanted a surplus of therapy," they explain. It is the voice of the 'real prison' that arrives, along with the jingle of keys opening and closing the gates. The voice of the prison where people suffer and die.

On 7 December 2023, the screening of Don Carlo for the La Scala premiere was interrupted after the second act due to the attempted suicide of one of the detainees who had been arrested a few days earlier and later died in hospital.

The dramas of the prison and its endless needs do not vanish in the dream of a festive evening, but the presence of the city in the 'square' of San Vittore reminds us that 'the prison is territory', as a historic head of the prison administration used to say. And of that world outside, the prison is a mirror. And for this reason it concerns everyone.