Milan's centuries-old La Scala opera house reopened on Monday evening with social distancing measures in place, after four months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Both staff and guests wore protective gear, including face masks.
The cultural venue operated at under a third of capacity to allow for distancing, with an audience of just 600, as opposed to the regular 2,000.
"You enter half empty theatres, it honestly breaks your heart, but we do it because we have to," said concertgoer Patrizia Fassina.
The opera house's general manager said that admitting so few guests was only sustainable for one-off shows.
"For normal work, this is not sustainable, it would ruin the theatre," said Dominique Meyer.
After the August break, La Scala returns in September with a performance of Verdi's Requiem in Milan's Duomo cathedral to remember Italy's virus dead, followed by Beethoven's 9th in the theater on September 5.
(AP)
