Giuseppe Taddei & Rolando Panerai

Dueling Rolex Baritones @

Giuseppe Taddei & Rolando Panerai

1957 Teatro alla Scala. Milan, Italy  

Rolex Datejust v. Rolex Oyster Perpetual

My last post on Rolex's freshly released 'Perpetuating the arts for over four decades' post made me think about the fantastic photo below. Rolex has been an official partner of Teatro alla Scala for two decades. Rolex has had a long-standing and successful relationship with the world of opera, and many of the most famous opera singers wear Rolex watches.

Giuseppe Taddei & Rolando Panerai both rocking Rolex at Teatro alla Scala. Milan, Italy 1957

This photo above was taken in 1957 of two famous Italian Opera baritone singers in Milano, Italia at the worlds most famous Opera House—Teatro alla Scala.  In the photo above we see Opera baritone Giuseppe Taddei wearing a Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee Bracelet, with his good friend and fellow baritone, Rolando Panerai, who is sporting a Rolex Oyster Perpetual on an Oyster Bracelet. Teatro alla Scala was built in 1778 and is considered sacred ground for opera fans.

The Teatro alla Scala video below features Gianpaolo Marini who is the brother of the former Rolex CEO Gian Riccardo Marini. Gianpaolo Marini is the head of Rolex in Italiano, and in the video below he discusses Rolex's sponsorship of Teatro alla Scala.

In 2015 Gianpaolo Marini, Head of Rolex Italia wrote: For the nineth year running, Rolex joins La Scala as its Official Partner for the Saint Ambrose evening, which opens the 2015-2016 Season with Verdi's opera Giovanna dArco conducted by Riccardo Chailly.   Rolex’s role as a partner for the opening evening at La Scala began with Tristan and Isolde followed by Don Carlos, then Carmen, The Valkyrie, Don Giovanni, Lohengrin, La Traviata, Fidelio and now Giovanna d'Arco. Almost a journey through the history of music in the company of its greatest masters: Wagner, Mozart, Bizet, Verdi, Beethoven.   Rolex shares the profound values and distinctive excellence of La Scala’s traditions. It has been the opera house’s Official Timekeeper since 2006 and supports its many major projects, from the inaugural evening to international tours, landmark productions and special concerts. Rolex brand ambassadors, such as Placido Domingo, Cecilia Bartoli, Jonas Kaufmann or Gustavo Dudamel, have often appeared on La Scala’s stage.      Over the years La Scala opera house has been Rolex Italia’s venue of choice to promote fund-raising initiatives or to celebrate important moments in its history, from the brand’s fiftieth anniversary to the opening of its new Milan headquarters housed in a palazzo on Via Manzoni close to the opera house.