NABA is pleased to share the recent projects developed by students from the Set Design Area including the creation of the set design for the prose opera“La Repubblica” at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano and the setting up of the decorations for the Gala Dinner held during the opening night of the 2024/25 Scaligera Season at the Teatro alla Scala di Milano. 

The set design for the prose opera “La Repubblica” at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano 

Following its debut at Teatro Carcano in February 2024, the prose opera “La Repubblica” returned to the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, directed and written by Omar Nedjari (NABA BA in Set Design lecturer). 

The creation of the sets and costumes, designed by Alice De Bortoli of Ortiche Studio (NABA BA in Set Design lecturer), involved the participation of several BA in Set Design students and Alumni – Paola Grandi, Silvia Civran, Francesca Abbiati, Pernilla Bertagni – and Barbara Medeiros, a student from the BA in Fashion Design

The decoration set-up for the Gala Dinner at Teatro alla Scala di Milano 

On the occasion of the Gala Dinner organised for the opening night of the Teatro alla Scala di Milano on December 7, students from the BA in Set Design – Marta Denna, Martina De Michelis, Gloria Friso, Emanuele Francolini, Fili Trevisan, and Peng Zyan – designed the set-up for the Società del Giardino, a table setting for prestigious guests. 

The project, carried out in collaboration with Caffè Scala, was coordinated by Margherita Palli (NABA Set Design Advisor) and Desiree Demolli (Alumna and current collaborator with Caffè Scala), with the involvement of the team from Locanda alla Mano, a Milan-based initiative promoting workplace integration and training for young people with disabilities. 

The NABA students' set-up project draws inspiration from the fresco “Il Parnaso” by Andrea Appiani—a leading figure of the Italian Neoclassical school—for the floral colour palette, and from the opening opera of the 2024-25 Scaligera Season, “La Forza del Destino” by Giuseppe Verdi, reflecting the passage of the seasons through a range of warm hues, such as yellow and orange, paired with cooler tones like grey and silver.