An exciting and engaging tribute that offers a meticulous and compelling behind-the-scenes investigation of Milan's Teatro alla Scala, the documentary chronicles the months of preparation leading up to the opening of the 2024/2025 Season with the new staging of Giuseppe Verdi's La Forza del Destino. The film, the result of access extraordinarily granted for the first time during the entire creative process, documents the titanic undertaking that involved some 900 professional figures. Through a fast-paced narrative rhythm, punctuated by countdowns, the entire journey of artistic creation is traced. The filming technique, combined with the careful use of specific microphones to safeguard sound quality, allowed the crew to gradually integrate, becoming a discreet presence that captures the creative process in its authenticity. The viewer is taken on a journey of discovery into an unseen world, from auditions for the corps de ballet, to set design, to work in the ateliers, to orchestra and cast rehearsals, to the energetic explosion culminating in the Dec. 7 event. In addition to the theatrical backstage, the gaze is also turned to the sociocultural impact, right up to the curtain opening and the widespread premiere. The latter, also filmed at San Vittore Prison, demolishes the perception of Opera as an elite spectacle, showing how the event is actually a moment of monumental importance and a spectacle for the entire City of Milan. The actuality of Verdi's melodrama, in the directorial reinterpretation that sets each act in a different wartime context, emerges with significant effectiveness. Through this dramaturgical contrivance, the film reflects on the cyclical nature of war and the persistence of social prejudices, thus offering an investigation into the human condition and the challenges of the contemporary world.

Director: Anissa Bonnefont
Story: Anissa Bonnefont
Screenplay: Anissa Bonnefont, Myriam Weil
Editing: Guerric Catala
Photography: Martina Cocco
Music: Jack Bartman
Set design: Federica Parolini (operatic staging)
Costume design: Silvia Aymonino
Cast: Anna Netrebko (Donna Leonora), Brian Jadge (Don Alvaro), Ludovic Tezier (Don Carlo di Vargas), Fabrizio Beggi (Marquis of Calatrava), Vasilisa Beržanskaja (Preziosilla), Alexander Vinogradov (Padre Guardiano) (cast members and Teatro alla Scala staff)
Production: Federation Studios and MDE Films, co-production RAI Documentari and France Televisions
Distribution: Ginger & Fed international
Origin: Italy
Year: 2025
Duration: 92'