In 2017, the Fondazione del Teatro Grande launched OPEN. Il Grande accessibile, a project dedicated to sensory disabilities, thanks to which the Opera and Ballet Season performances are made accessible to blind and deaf people through specific activities and dedicated services, such as surtitles, audio descriptions, assisted listening systems, tactile tables, videos in Italian Sign Language (LIS), multisensory experiences, workshops, and inclusive courses. From 2023, OPEN also aims to bring people with cognitive disabilities closer to the Teatro Grande in order to make the theater accessible and open to everyone.

OPEN was named the winner in the Cultural Sponsorship and Partnerships category at the 2023–2024 edition of the Cultura+Impresa Award organised by Federculture and The Round Table, where it also received the Special Mention for ‘Digital Innovation in the Arts’.

The OPEN project uses Sennheiser’s Mobile Connect system, which allows hearing-impaired guests to independently adjust sound frequencies directly on their own smartphones. The system is also compatible with the latest generation of cochlear implants, and each user can select the frequency that best suits their hearing from their mobile phone. The Opera experience for deaf people is enhanced by Italian surtitles, which are available for all performances.

The same Sennheiser equipment enables an audio description to be transmitted via headphones for the blind; this audio description is produced during the opening weeks of the production so that it effectively describes what is happening on stage, going into detail about the director’s interpretation, scene choices and costumes, thanks in part to interviews and discussions with the show’s creative team. It is therefore not simply a retelling of the show’s plot, but an audio description that accurately reflects exactly what is being portrayed on stage at that moment.

In the weeks leading up to the accessible performances, a video trailer of the show is produced and broadcast on the communication channels of the Teatro Grande and to associations that support people with sensory disabilities. The trailer features a narrator, subtitles, and translation into Italian Sign Language (LIS), with a summary of the plot and some historical notes on the origins of each title.

For each Opera performance, a multisensory tour is also organized, allowing participants to explore the sets, costumes, and props through touch, as well as meet some of the professionals involved in the various productions. Each tour is aimed at both blind and deaf people, who are guaranteed LIS interpreting services. The multisensory tours are complemented by musical sections in which some of the Opera's most significant passages are analyzed through sound vibrations and short piano performances narrated by a maestro collaborating with the theater. Finally, the aids available include tactile tables, created with embossed prints of the production's stage designs.

The annual dance workshop is also part of the OPEN project activities carried out as part of the Opera and Ballet Season: an inclusive workshop introducing participants to dance, set to the music of the classical ballet in the program, open to young people under 30 with sensory and cognitive disabilities. Developing creativity, improving body awareness, learning to express oneself through the body, stimulating observation and sharing with the group are the primary objectives of this activity, which is particularly popular and appreciated.

With the aim of raising awareness among the public and other organisations in the performing arts sector about best practices relating to inclusion, since 2022 the Fondazione del Teatro Grande has extended some of the activities of the OPEN project to two other theatres in the OperaLombardia network, of which it is a partner: the Teatro Sociale in Como and the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona.

Over the years, the Teatro Grande has expanded the project to make not only the performances, but also the spaces and historical narrative of the theater accessible and open to everyone.

In this sense, one of the most significant projects launched involves the direct participation of the guests of the OPEN project in recounting the history and spaces of the Teatro Grande building. Two half-days of training are offered each year to anyone who wants to experience leading groups of people with and without disabilities, with the aim of supporting the staff of the Teatro Grande in exploring the theater machinery and its spaces. The activity is aimed at young people aged 15 to 35 from the local blind and deaf communities and, since 2023, has also been extended to young people with cognitive disabilities, in an attempt to work together to create an accessible tour that is as inclusive as possible. During the two days of training, numerous guests from the cultural and museum scene (both local and national), active in the field of accessibility practices, take turns supporting the aspiring guides by sharing their direct experiences.

Within the broad framework of OPEN. Il Grande accessibile, the Fondazione del Teatro Grande has also created accessible visits to workshops thanks to collaboration with a number of artisan workshops in the city, such as the violin-making workshop of Maestro Filippo Fasser and the historic piano manufacturer Passadori Pianoforti, which are opening up their spaces and sharing their secrets for a moment of multisensory sharing and discovery. These events— reserved for blind, deaf, and cognitively disabled people and their companions —are scheduled during the summer months and are always free of charge.

In addition, in 2023, the Fondazione del Teatro Grande organised a training day on accessibility open to all, which included a round-table discussion with international guests and a number of workshops related to the world of theatre, such as one on transcribing musical scores into Braille.