It happened in Italy, in the city of Milan, on Friday the 21st of April, 2006, at 09:55. I had some time ‘to kill’ until my meeting in a law office. So, I wore my shorts and running shoes. I started to walk from the hotel, with no specific direction route towards the centre of Milan. My feet took me – to wherever…

I walked through the busy waking-up streets, going through shopping malls, with their typical old Italian look… I saw the big DUOMO, the wonderful impressive cathedral. I had no specific direction… just went on and on… Then suddenly, I found myself in a small piazza… it had a delightful statue in the middle. On the wall of one of the buildings I read: “Piazza La Scala”.

And then… before long… I found myself standing in front of the famous opera house. La Scala Opera House, Milan.

I walked to the front door of the building, it looked smaller then I have imagined it in the past. I was really there, touching the closed doors. Advertising was for the evening Tosca performance. All the stories about this place flashed through my mind. The great singers of the world, those I grew up to love as an opera fan. Di-Stefano, Richard Tucker, Victoria –De’ LosAngeles, Leontil Price…

I thought of my Mom who came here to see the opera house in 1970, and she then sat on a bench crying because on that day of her visit the place was closed. I felt the excitement of being a part, even for a very short time, of the real shrine of the wonderful world of opera. I had to go to my meeting… I would be back.

Opera connects performers and audiences in a shared emotional experience and it is truly a reflection of the human condition; whether the story is Shakespeare, Aesop or Hugo, it will continue to delight audiences of all ages and cultures, because on the most basic level, opera tells the story of our lives.