Sketch by Alessandro Sanquirico

Alessandro Sanquirico was principal major figure at La Scala in the nineteenth century. Three rooms further on there is a marble sculpture of him by Antonio Galli. Born in Milan on 27th July 1777, the set designer displayed typical Milanese qualities. He was a tireless worker who liked parties, gatherings and discussions. And above all, action. You could say that he had the gift of ubiquity. On 1 December 1822, he decorated La Scala in honour of the Duke of Wellington, who was received triumphantly in Milan. The very same evening he was at the Teatro Re supervising Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto. In 1830 he managed to stage two operas simultaneously and this became a legendary event. The operas were Bellini’s I Capuleti e i
Montecchi at La Scala and Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, which premiered at the Teatro Carcano. Capable of designing and building sets in only a few days, Sanquirico approached his commissions with a realistic, positive attitude. It is to him we owe the 1830 refurbishment of the interior of La Scala. The list of works designed by him is impressive, from operas to ballets, and includes several premieres. Estimates run from 300 to 500. The same goes for his engravings, his extravagant “guazze” hair pieces, his designs for frescoes and albums. Sanquirico’s methods were ahead of their time. He profited from the commercial value of his work, creating large albums which he gave to prominent people and personalities. These included mezzo-soprano Giuditta Pasta, Emperor Carlo Alberto of Savoy and Isabella di Borbone. This had the double result of promoting himself and leaving a large documentary legacy to posterity. Amongst his admirers was Stendhal, who said that he had never seen the eternal problems of theatrical fiction, such as storms, fires or volcanic eruptions re-created with such daring technical skill. His death on 12 March 1849 was tinged with mystery: he seems to have succumbed to a toxic substance which he mistook for a drink. Amongst the museum’s collections, there are hundreds of set designs by Sanquirico. (Vittoria Crespi)