The theater lights dim, the auditorium falls silent, the curtain rises and the orchestra directed by Riccardo Chailly begins to play.

After months of work at Milan's Teatro Alla Scala, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, everything is ready for what traditionally marks the start of a new season: December 7th.

Before the gala evening, two events mark the real run-up to the premiere. The dress rehearsal open to theater employees and the special preview reserved for young people under 30.

This year, a Russian opera has been chosen to inaugurate the season, Dmitri Shostakovich's "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk".

The stage direction by Vasily Barkhatov sets the opera in a cosmopolitan Russian city in the 1950s, during the waning days of Stalin’s regime, rather than in the 19th-century rural village of the original 1930s premiere.

A story of love and violence, with a tragic end.

Making her La Scala debut is American lead soprano Sara Jakubiak. She plays the demanding role of Katerina Izmaylova, the opera’s central protagonist.

Backstage, preparations are in full swing. From wigs to costumes, from sets to props, everything must be ready and in place.

Tiziana Libardo, head of the hair and makeup department, oversees the creation of all the wigs for the show. About fifty wigs were made for this year’s inaugural opera.

In the corridors of the theatre, in front of the dressing rooms of the protagonists, trolleys loaded with stage costumes are pushed back and forth. Almost 300 dresses are being made for this opera.

On and behind the stage, the final details are arranged before the performance begins.

A long, collective effort built on dedication and craftsmanship.

It is a ritual familiar to every production, but in the days leading up to the December 7th premiere, it carries a distinctly heightened anticipation.