Press Release | Gütersloh, 10/24/2024

Following Huge Success in Berlin, Puccini Exhibition Opens at Milan’s La Scala

• Opening of multimedia exhibition at La Scala Museum
• Exhibition recounts the extraordinary symbiosis between Puccini's business activities and artistic work and Casa Ricordi
• Thomas Rabe: “The legacy of the Ricordi Archives goes back to the roots of a business with which Bertelsmann is still closely associated today.”

Gütersloh, October 24, 2024 – This spring, around 10,000 people visited the Puccini exhibition at Bertelsmann Unter den Linden 1 in Berlin, hosted by Milan-based Archivio Storico Ricordi, which is part of Bertelsmann. Now, a very special return is taking place: Giacomo Puccini's last opera “Turandot” – which was also to become one of his most famous – premiered at La Scala in Milan on April 25, 1926. Now, on the centenary of Puccini's death, original documents from that same opera are returning to one of the world's most famous opera houses. The multimedia exhibition “Puccini – Opera Meets New Media” at the Museo Teatrale alla Scala presents exhibits of unique cultural and music-historical value to the public, including scores, sketches and sheet music with handwritten notes by Giacomo Puccini.

“Puccini – Opera Meets New Media” illustrates the interrelationship between opera and the media in the early 20th century. The exhibition, meticulously curated by Gabriele Dotto, Ellen Lockhart, and Christy Thomas Adams, recounts the extraordinary symbiosis of economic activity and artistic creation that characterized Puccini and his publisher, Casa Ricordi, as early as the last century. The exhibits and installations also speak of the challenges that the "new media” of the time posed for existing copyright law and rights exploitation.

Bertelsmann Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe commented: “As the owner of the Ricordi Archive, we are keenly aware of the significance of this world-class cultural treasure and take responsibility for its long-term preservation, maintenance and development. The archive's heritage goes back to the roots of a business with which Bertelsmann is still closely associated today: the marketing of music rights. For generations, the members of the Ricordi family were pioneers in copyright and rights management. Their commitment laid the foundation for artists and composers to be remunerated for their creative work, and for this work to be protected as intellectual property. As a creative company with a history stretching back nearly 190 years, we are keen to honor the creative and cultural achievements of previous generations as well.”

Culture@Bertelsmann

For many years, Bertelsmann has been involved in the cultural sector in a variety of ways, both on a national and international level. The Group’s Culture@Bertelsmann activities include exhibitions, readings and concerts, the “Blue Sofa” literature format, as well as efforts to preserve Europe's cultural heritage. In addition to its involvement with the Ricordi archive, Bertelsmann, as a company with a long cinematic history of its own, is also committed to the restoration, digitization, and screening of significant silent films.

Karin Schlautmann, who is responsible for the Archivio Storico Ricordi in her role as EVP of Corporate Communications at Bertelsmann, said: “In 2012, by launching Culture@Bertelsmann, we sought ways to engage with the historic field of culture beyond classical patronage and sponsorship and make it part of a broad-based strategic communications effort. All of our company's cultural activities are bundled under this heading and used for communication purposes. For Bertelsmann, this has created an additional pillar of strategic positioning as a company that is committed to the value and protection of creative content.”

The exhibition “Puccini – Opera Meets New Media” will be showing at La Scala in Milan from October 24, 2024, to January 12, 2025. Further venues will follow.

‘Puccini – Opera Meets New Media’
24 Oct 2024 – 12 Jan 2025
Daily 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM
Museo Teatrale alla Scala, Milan
Largo Antonio Ghiringhelli 1

The exhibition will be accompanied by numerous events at various locations in Milan before and during the showing period.
Prestel (Penguin Random House) has published a richly illustrated companion volume to the exhibition, edited by Gabriele Dotto.
Further information about the exhibition and the various accompanying events can be found at www.operameetsnewmedia.com  .

About the Archivio Storico Ricordi
The Archivio Storico Ricordi is recognized as one of the most important music collections in the world. Its holdings include a wealth of unique material spanning 200 years of Italian opera history, including 7,800 handwritten scores, more than 31,000 letters, 6,000 photographs, magazines, 10,000 libretti, and many other documents. Bertelsmann is aware of the responsibility that its ownership of this valuable cultural asset entails. The company is indexing the archive holdings according to the latest standards and making thousands of documents, stage and costume designs, libretti, and items of business correspondence available online.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company with more than 80,000 employees that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the entertainment group RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato Group, Bertelsmann Marketing Services, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company generated revenues of €20.2 billion in the 2023 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world. Bertelsmann aspires to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.