Adriana Lecouvreur de Cilea

Discover the rare treasure that is Francesco Cilea’s iconic opera, Adriana Lecouvreur, at Milan’s magnificent and historic La Scala! Two legends of Italian opera, Fiorenza Cossotto and the late Mirella Freni, star in this opulent 1989 production by Lamberto Puggelli.

Despite her successful career, 18th-century French actress Adrienne Lecouvreur is perhaps better known for her love affair with Maurice de Saxe and her mysterious death in 1730 at the age of 38. Her romantic and mysterious story captured the attention of playwrights Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé who wrote a fictional play based on her life which in turn inspired the libretto of Italian composer Francesco Cilea’s opera. Over 80 years after its highly successful premiere in 1908, an exceptional Italian cast revives all the drama, passion, and tragedy of the work in this 1989 performance on one of the world’s greatest opera stages.