marionanni presents "la luce della musica" (the light of music) for la scala opera house in milan. the work has been specifically conceived for the façade of la scala opera house and, from 7 december, the date of the long-awaited opening night of carmen, directed by daniel barenboim, after a preview for the mayor, letizia moratti and the city the day before, it will provide piazza della scala with a fabulous spectacle of light. for la scala opera house, marionanni uses the light in motion of his "liv" (variable image lamp) and alters the boundaries of the façade, opening a curtain between the building and the piazza, offering passers-by the opportunity to be both spectators and actors in the show. "mine is a play of light, a work dedicated to milan, in which the plot evolves through metaphors of symbols and of light, starting with the opera house as a fountain of knowledge and artistry" claims marionanni. the show opens with the red theatre curtain, beginning a story that is 24 minutes long, a minute for every hour of the day and is repeated with changing details while the bright point of a star moves from day to day, growing in intensity in the spirit of anticipation for the night of 25 december, when the light of the nativity will explode and the shadows of the spectators will come on to the façade to enliven it and blend the viewer and the viewed into a single entity. for this, unprecedented, job, marionanni's story of light is an explosion of life; it follows the rhythm that runs from dawn to dusk, assembling architectural, symbolic and narrative aspects associated with the city and its leading figures, starting with an imaginary dialogue with leonardo da vinci, who watches the theatre façade from the centre of the piazza. the opera house is the place of culture, the arts and debate; with the light of dawn, its bricks turn into written tomes, its windows serve as blank notebooks for new ideas and designs, a library of light - as marionanni describes it - a symbol of culture, of discovery, of intellectual development and of exploration. marionanni the designer's tribute to leonardo the designer can be found in the boat that glides between the theatre windows, representing the transport of white marble used for building the cathedral, along the navigli canals. the story continues, offering the viewer a physical and emotional reflection until the twilight of sunset, when a flight of birds is silhouetted among the clouds, a recurring theme in marionanni's work; on this occasion it reappears as a tribute to leonardo's genius too, to his discoveries and to his studies on the rules of flight. I love the feeling of aspiring to something, trying to catch hold of it and planning how to achieve it. letizia moratti:

«this artistic production with light brings a monument to life that is in tune with the city, starting with the very tempo of the city - the 24 hours of the day -and the thing I find extraordinary is the opportunity it gives the city to experience outside a moment that is normally only experienced inside, in other words art on what is a monument to the city, which I think is something very important; something else very appealing about this production is that la scala is seen as the venue for all of our city's culture, as indeed it is. then comes the final part, with this sky, where there are clouds too because every sky is like that; life is made up of sunshine and clouds but there are these white birds that spread their wings and this is a sign that represents our city very well, a city made of light and shadows but also of white birds that know how to spread their wings.»