The roots of the La Scala Theatre Academy in Milan stretch back to 1813, when a ballet school opened within the building. The genuine beginning, however, is associated with the name of Arturo Toscanini, under whose patronage the training of opera singers was launched. Today, students can choose from some 30 different disciplines, from stage photography to make-up, and from set building to – naturally – training of the whole range of orchestral musicians, oratorio soloists and chorus singers. The... latter will perform Rossini’s provocatively titled Petite messe solennelle, which the 71-year-old composer – who had by then already devoted more than three decades to cooking and socialising – himself described as “the last of my sins of old age”. It has been said that, to perform the work in its original form as premièred in 1864, all that is needed is a small hall, a piano, a harmonium, eight choristers and the four greatest singers on Earth. However, the far-sighted composer later orchestrated the work for fear that another might do so (badly) after his death. Meanwhile the French Emperor Napoleon III, unable to let the “big comeback” of the world-famous Italian composer – then residing in Paris – pass by without comment, allegedly declared of the Petite messe solennelle that it is neither little, nor solemn, nor particularly liturgical. The observation was not without basis, as in this composition the gastronomically creative composer avoided the sentimentality of most contemporary liturgical works; indeed he sprinkled the preface to his mass with untranslatable plays on words and sarcastic remarks: “Good God, behold completed this poor little Mass. Is it indeed sacred music [la musique sacrée] that I have just written, or merely damned music [la sacré musique]? You know well, I was born for comic opera. Little science, a little heart; that is all. So may you be blessed, and grant me Paradise!" Presented by: Palace of Arts
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
Safe ticket purchase
Dear Visitors, please note that only tickets purchased from the Müpa website and official ticket offices are guaranteed to be valid. To avoid possible inconvenience, we suggest buying tickets to our performances and concerts via the mupa.hu website, the Interticket national network (jegy.hu) or at our official ticket offices.