Opera house in Milan, Italy.
Built in 1776 by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (which country then ruled Milan), it replaced an earlier theatre that had burned. With the works of 19th-century composer Gioacchino Rossini , Italian opera regained international attention, and La Scala, as the site of many of Rossini's premieres, had by the 1830s become the opera landmark it has remained ever since. Associated with the main theatre are a smaller theatre, La Piccola Scala; a ballet company and ballet school; and a singing school.