Please find hereafter the contents of a letter we have received on July 6th 2004 from the "Amici della Scala" I am addressing you to your sensitivity and to the high prestige of your Festival to invite you to an initiative aimed at expressing the friendship among the great cultural institutions of Europe. On December 7th 2004 the Teatro alla Scala in Milan will reopen at the end of its restoration and refurbishment works. A musical history that started in 1778 with Antonio Salieri's opera "L'Europa riconosciuta" (that will be staged again in a new arrangement for this merry occasion), it will follow again its course which is closely intertwined with the magnificence of over two centuries of music and ballet and with the history of our nation and the whole of Europe. The beautiful Hall of Piermarini rose again from the destructions of aerial bombardments already at the end of World War 2, also thanks to the help of "Amici della Scala" ("Friends of Scala"), to become the centre of a new society based on peace and cooperation among peoples. This spirit of brotherhood and solidarity, the precious basis of a common culture that, though with some difficulties, is asserting itself in Europe also from a political point of view will dictate the guidelines of the future of the Scala, for it to be worthy of its exceptional past. Still, we cannot close our eyes in front of the difficulties the cultural and artistic life is encountering today in a radically changed world; problems that make the warmth of human relationships and the lively cultural solidarity among the theatrical and musical bodies operating in the various cities of Europe and world more necessary than ever. This is why "Amici della Scala" in Milan (an association established by Arturo Toscanini) is addressing you to ask you a sign of good wishes and friendship, inviting you to symbolically dedicate an initiative by your Festival to the reopening at hand; or to manifest in the way you will deem most appropriate your closeness to such an important happening. To lay emphasis on this act of generosity, "Amici della Scala" is planning to collect in a lasting record the testimonies of the civil participation of the whole world of music, theatre and art to the great celebration of their beloved and glorious theatre. This initiative would become an instrument to sensitise the European public, politicians, institutions and entrepreneurs on the role art could play today in the process of creating a common house and culture. I thank you for your kind attention and ask you to send us your reply before July 15th, so that we can provide for the preparation and printing of the lasting record and then for its presentation during a ceremony next autumn in Milan. I send you my kindest regards and compliments by "Amici della Scala" for your Festival. Anna Crespi Morbio Amici della Scala 16, Corso Venezia I-20121 Milano Tel.: 02 783 479 Fax: 02 7601 3856 For information: info@amicidellascala.it