News

Silvia Colasanti Anna A

Silvia Colasanti Anna A

Silvia Colasanti returns to the operatic stage with Anna A., commissioned by Teatro alla Scala — marking the first time in the theatre’s history that a female composer has been entrusted with a world premiere at the Piermarini.

The work is inspired by the life of the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966), whose voice stands as a symbol of artistic freedom and resistance during the Soviet era. The libretto, written by Paolo Nori with Fabrizio Sinisi, unfolds through a musical language that blends lyricism, rhythm, and introspection. Directed by Giulia Giammona, with set design by Lisa Behensky and costumes by Giada Masi, Anna A. is conducted by Anna Skryleva and performed by the musicians of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala. The project embodies Colasanti’s vision of a music that “bears witness to its time” — poised between poetic imagination and civic consciousness.

Trailer

 

About Anna A.

The story takes the form of a long flashback, in which the elderly Akhmatova looks back on her life, facing memory, love, exile, and censorship. Colasanti’s music becomes an inner voice, a space where poetry and sound intertwine, revealing both fragility and strength. Alternating sung and spoken passages, the score weaves an expressive tapestry suspended between realism and vision.

Interview with Silvia Colasanti

Presentation of the opera

Behind the scenes

Interview with Silvia Colasanti

Interview with Paolo Nori

Press quotes

“Anna A.” 's debut (...) was a success. Especially for Silvia Colasanti, the first female composer to be commissioned by Piermarini, who was applauded not for her gender but for her undeniable musical talent.
La Repubblica

A language that does not console but moves, hurts. “Anna A.” speaks to schools and universities, of course; but she also speaks to those who believe themselves to be “adults” and worldly-wise. Because what she brings to the stage – oppressed and stubborn poetry, seductive and ferocious power, motherhood as a rock, community as a choir – does not belong to a particular era: it concerns us today, tomorrow. And if it is true, as Power says, that freedom is “just a word”, then the song that refutes this here is not an ornament, but a civil act in the form of poetry.
Huffington Post

 

Great musical theatre is written by those who know how to perfectly match vocal and instrumental sound to words, creating a wide variety of atmospheres that are all integrated with each other along a coherent dramatic path, where the most complex construction appears simple because it is always easy to follow: Silvia Colasanti knows how to do this, and she does it very well.
Il Giorno

A highly refined score built entirely on words, with captivating melodic openings and perfectly calibrated melologues... beautifully orchestrated, which is always the case today, but equally well written for the voices, which is almost never the case.
La Stampa

 

The premiere of Anna A.'s opera is convincing (...) it has a very solid structure. (...) Silvia Colasanti has the ability to move from one of the three formulations to another with extreme lucidity and clarity, always measuring the sound effects, even when she alludes to Russian folklore.
Il Giornale della Musica

Silvia Colasanti effectively and sensitively juxtaposes different planes, intertwining song and prose. An intense, fascinating, dense and dramatic score, extremely multifaceted and layered, refined and exciting.
Connessi all'Opera

An opera that speaks to everyone, the inestimable value of poetry, the crucial relationship between Art and Power, the tragic looming of totalitarianism..., the nostalgic but necessary value of memory. The essentially neoclassical intention of Silvia Colasanti's score is consistent and well developed. Using evocative, magnetic references, it seduces the listener, often drawing on implicit popular material.
Music Paper

photos: © Brescia e Amisano / Teatro alla Scala

Back to overview