Like so many of our interactions in Italy, we were left completely baffled by the process of trying to buy cheap tickets for Teatro alla Scala. I was desperate to watch an opera at Milan’s famous theatre and had managed to persuade Mr A we should go during our babymoon in Italy. After all, the BBC has called it “one of the most stunning opera houses in the world”.

The impressive Teatro alla Scala in Milan

I love all kinds of theatre and am slowly trying to introduce Mr A to opera. But while he’s quite amenable to sitting through a few hours of singing, what’s he wasn’t so keen on was the 75+ euro price tag of the cheapest tickets I could find for Handel’s Tamerlano on the theatre’s official website. (Be aware that this price of ticket also comes with ‘restricted views’).

So, always on the lookout for a bargain, and having managed to bag some cheap tickets for the Sydney Opera House during my visit to Australia, I did a bit of investigating to see whether there was another way to buy them. After digging around, I managed to find a website that suggested that 120 cheap tickets go on sale at the Ticket Office on the day of each performance. It was a bit vague, with no actual mention of price, and the process to buy them sounded very convoluted.

However, the main advice I gleaned is that you have to be in the queue by 1pm. That we could do. So we decided to chance our luck and go for it.

Our quest to buy cheap tickets for Teatro alla Scala

Mr A always laughs at my insistence that we arrived early to queue for things. But my determination that we should be there by at least 12.30pm to cheap tickets for Teatro alla Scala paid off. To our surprise, people were already lining up when we arrived.

(If you plan to try this yourself, note that the Ticket Office is down the side of the theatre on Via Filodrammatici.)

Heading up the queue was a bunch of old men, on fold-up chairs, who obviously knew how the game worked. That reassured us we were in the right place.

The cheap tickets for Teatro alla Scala are managed by a volunteer group, rather than the theatre itself. This may explain why the system is so complicated. Or maybe they just want to make sure only the super-keen fans make it through the process.

Firstly, at 1pm exactly a lady appeared and took everyone’s name and gave us a number. Two very important things here: You must have some ID such as a passport with you and you must be there in person to buy your own ticket. So no standing in line and trying to buy two tickets, like the poor tourist in front of us, who was told in no uncertain terms that this wasn’t on.

Mission accomplished

We were then instructed to return to the same place at 5pm. So we went off to see The Last Supper and returned at the allotted time. After another half an hour of aimlessly milling around, two volunteers appeared with the list from earlier. They called out the numbers we’d previously been given, checked our ID and gave us a piece of paper with another number on it.

While we still didn’t have a clue what was going on, we just knew that we had to do what we were told. The volunteers were actually quite strict. One man even got told off for arriving after the 5pm deadline!

After more waiting, the doors to the Ticket Office finally opened and our numbers were called out in blocks of five. We moved into another queue, with no idea how much we’d be asked to pay or where we’d be sitting.

However, we eventually achieved success and were allocated two ‘restricted view’ seats for 13 euros each.

Very proud of our cheap tickets for Teatro alla Scala

Pleased with our purchase, although still completely baffled by the system, we raced back to our apartment to get changed. Depending on where you’re staying it might be worth going to collect the tickets at 5pm in your opera outfits. We found ourselves very pushed for time to get back for 7pm!

By the way, as you can probably tell, buying tickets for the teatro alla scala this way is quite a lengthy process. If you don’t have a lot of time in Milan, you could opt for a tour of the teatro alla scala instead:

The ‘cheap seats’ mistake

An hour later we were back with our cheap tickets for Teatro alla Scala, walking through the impressive entrance way. We glided into a world of glass chandeliers and mirrored glass doors. It really is the most fantastic building.

Everyone around us was very dressed really elegantly and we excitedly handed our tickets to the attendant. However, we were immediately brought back to earth with a bump. It was kindly explained to us that we were in fact at the wrong entrance. We were instead directed back outside to a small, narrow staircase, which seemed much more in keeping with the ticket price we had paid!

An amazing performance of Tamerlano

When we eventually reached our seats in the very top stalls, we had an amazing view of the entire theatre. We also discovered, that when the Italians say ‘restricted view’ they really do mean it.

In the seats we had been allocated we actually couldn’t see the stage unless we stood up. We quickly discovered a bar above our heads which is positioned to enable you to lean on it. So, if you do choose to opt for cheap tickets for Teatro alla Scala, make sure that you’re happy to stand for a couple of hours.

A sneaky upgrade

However, when the performance began we saw a people moving around and getting into positions where the views were better. As I was seven months pregnant and not keen on standing for the whole performance, I followed suit. I ended up managing to bag an empty seat on the front row of our stall. This meant I had a pretty good view of the whole performance.

One happy theatre goer!

And I was so pleased that I did. As well as the superb singers, who were dressed in gorgeous costumes, the staging of Tamerlano was amazing. It was hands down one of the best operas I have ever seen!

So while it may have been a bit of a mission to get cheap tickets for Teatro alla Scala, it was definitely worth it. We had such a fantastic night and it was the perfect end to our stay in Milan. I think even Mr A might be coming around to the opera!

For more information about our babymoon in Italy, check out this post and to find out how to get tickets to see da Vinci’s The Last Supper in Milan read this.