What does it mean to lead culture today? 

In an age marked by rapid change, competing priorities and shifting expectations, cultural leadership is no longer just about artistic direction or strategic planning. It is about shaping meaning. It requires the ability to align creativity with responsibility, heritage with innovation, and institutional identity with the needs of a wider community. 

These were the ideas at the heart of a masterclass held at SDA Bocconi with Fortunato Ortombina, Superintendent and Artistic Director of Teatro alla Scala. His conversation with the MAMA (Master in Arts Management and Administration) cohort offered a rare look behind the scenes of one of the world’s most influential cultural institutions, but also a reflection on the broader role of culture in public life. 

Ortombina began by challenging some of the myths that still surround the arts. The notion of the “genius” as a solitary figure illuminated by inspiration, he argued, obscures the reality of daily discipline, technical knowledge and collective effort. Artistic excellence is not the result of intuition alone; it is constructed, sustained and protected through organization, teamwork and a deep sense of responsibility.

From this starting point, he highlighted a theme that ran through the entire discussion: the inextricable link between artistic vision and economic sustainability. For Ortombina, the two cannot be separated. They shape each other. He illustrated this with stories from opera history, including Puccini’s creative response to budget limits in Tosca, as a reminder that constraints do not necessarily limit creativity, but refine it. 

The conversation expanded to explore the relationship between La Scala and the city of Milan. Ortombina described this connection as “the most intimate expression of a city’s identity,” rooted in shared history, civic pride and a sense of belonging that has endured through crises, including the destruction and rebuilding of the theatre after World War II. “When culture is truly embedded in a community,” he noted, “its value goes far beyond the stage: it becomes a public good.” 

This civic mission shapes how La Scala approaches governance, funding, accessibility and engagement. Ortombina outlined an ecosystem where public support, private sponsorship and ticket revenues coexist in a delicate equilibrium. The goal is not to privilege wealthier audiences, but to protect access and ensure that artistic institutions remain open, inclusive and sustainable. “A theatre,” he said, “must never become a place reserved for the few.”

Equally central to his vision is the development of new talent. Investing in young artists, conductors, directors and designers is not optional, it’s a duty. “A cultural institution that speaks only to its past,” he warned, “risks losing its future.” For Ortombina, innovation lives in people: in their voices, their ideas and their evolution. 

Throughout the masterclass, Ortombina navigated seamlessly between personal experience and institutional perspective, revealing how leadership in the arts demands both clarity and humility. It asks leaders to hold together the artistic and the managerial, the symbolic and the practical, the long-term vision and the daily work.

For the students of the MAMA program, the session offered more than insight into La Scala. It was an invitation to rethink the nature of cultural leadership itself. In a sector where tradition carries weight and innovation is essential, Ortombina’s message was clear: culture thrives when meaning is created, shared and renewed, and when leadership recognizes that responsibility.