A Short History of Three Opera Venues In Italy

Sferisterio di Macerata, Teatro Carlo Felice and Teatro Alla Scala

Feb 11, 2009 Jo Lamb-White

A summary of some of the finest places to experience, not only the performances but also the historical richness within which they are enjoyed.

The art of Opera was born in Italy and there are many delightful settings where the visual and auditory and visual experiences can be enjoyed. The following three venues are considered some of the best.

Sferisterio di Macerata

This open-air stadium is situated in central Italy, in the provincial city of Macerata. Built in the early part of the Nineteenth century, the stadium hosted ancient Italian sports, circuses and sometimes bullfights. It was funded by a few wealthy residents of Macerata and designed by a local architect.

The stadium sits at the bottom of the city near one of the access ‘ports’ which lead to the centre high above. It consists of a huge arena (previously a playing field), a series of rooms, a supporting wall, boxes, and balconies. The design not only allows the building to blend with the local landscape but its structure ensures visibility for all and amazing acoustics without the need for modern amplification.

As time has progressed the stadium has seen a number of more modern activities, including football, tennis and the occasional theatrical performance. It was first used for opera in 1914, which became very popular. For many years now, an annual Opera Festival has been produced at an international level and is a well-respected event. The stadium can hold up to 3000 people.

Teatro Carlo Felice

This opera house is based in Genoa a seaport in northern Italy. The theatre dates back to the early 1800’s and is built on the site of a church. Even though the building had not been completed, the first performance by Bellini was held in 1828.The hall accommodated around 2,500 people in total and the sound management at the time, was considered to be the best.

Verdi is said to have refused the offer of composing an opera for the venue, despite his adoption of the town as his winter abode for most of his life. He claimed at the time that he was too old.

The hall has since undergone many alterations and was badly damaged in the Second World War, when it was reduced to an almost skeletal framework. However, since then it has been rebuilt, and officially reopened in 1991. The theatre has maintained its original exterior but has been modernised internally and now holds up to 2000 people.

Teatro Alla Scala

This prestigious venue is renowned as being one of the most famous opera houses in the world. It is based in Milan the largest city in Italy and situated in the North of the country. Known as La Scala and was founded in 1776 to replace its original which had been destroyed by fire. The work was funded by owners of the boxes in the original building, in exchange for possession of land on which stood the church of Santa Maria alla Scalla. They also had renewed ownership of their boxes in the new theatre. Stendhal is known to have been impressed with their flamboyant support.

The theatre was originally lit by a huge number of gas lamps and in the event of a fire, water buckets were placed in a number of rooms. Eventually these were replaced by gas lamps and the theatre finally went onto electric lighting in 1833. Like Teatro Carlo Felice, La Scala was badly damaged during the Second World War and has since been rebuilt.

The theatre continues to host the openings of many first productions and was a preferred venue for Verdi. However, he did blacklist the theatre until a dispute over the modification of his music was resolved. The building also houses a museum, which displays a number of paintings, statues and costumes relating to its history. As well as the lavishly decorated boxes and main stage, La Scala has always had a gallery for those opera lovers who are less well off, called the loggione. The theatre can hold up to 2,800 seats.

Italy has designed and built many fine buildings to experience the cultural, theatrical and musical events of the opera. These venues can be found throughout Italy, both large and small and continue to produce some of the finest performances.

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