Opera houses and theatres of Venice
Encyclopedia
The first commercial opera was set up in 1637, after which at one point the city had six opera houses. This ushered in a period in which they throve up to a decline in opera and theatre with the advent of television. Recently there has been a revival due to tourism and events such as the International Theatre Festival of the Biennale di Venezia.
On the mainland
Theatres still open today
- La FeniceLa FeniceTeatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
- Venice's leading opera house. The first theatre was built in 1792 and the current structure opened in 2003. - Teatro GoldoniTeatro GoldoniThe Teatro Goldoni is one of the major theatres and opera houses of Venice. Today it is the home of the Teatro Stabile del Veneto...
1622–present. Originally the Teatro VendraminVendraminThe Vendramin were a rich merchant family of Venice, Italy, who were among the case nuove or "new houses" who joined the patrician class when the Libro d'Oro was opened after the battle of Chioggia...
di San Salvador (in Venetian dialect) or Teatro San Salvatore, 1622, renamed Teatro San Luca, then Teatro Apollo in 1833, Teatro Goldoni from 1875 and today Teatro Stabile di Veneto "Carlo Goldoni". - Teatro MalibranTeatro MalibranThe Teatro Malibran, formerly known as the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, is an opera house in Venice known for its operatic importance in the 17th and 18th centuries...
originally Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo 1678. Re-opened in 2001 by President Carlo Azeglio CiampiCarlo Azeglio Ciampidr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006... - Theatre Fondamenta Nuove, 1998 on the north lagoon, musical and cultural events, as well as conferences and workshops.
On the mainland
- Teatro del Parco, MestreMestreMestre is a city part of the comune of Venice, in Veneto, northern Italy.The city is connected to Venice by a large rail and road bridge, called Ponte della Libertà ....
. An indoors theatre in Parco della Bissuola, the largest city park. - Teatro Toniolo, Mestre. re-opened 2003
- Teatro della Murata, Mestre - opened 1970; a small experimental theatre, seating 70, in an old warehouse attached to the remaining city walls.
Theatres now demolished, destroyed by fire or closed
- Teatro San CassianoTeatro San CassianoThe Teatro San Cassiano or Teatro di San Cassiano in Venice was the first public opera house when it opened in 1637. The theatre takes its name from the neighbourhood where it was located, the parish of San Cassiano near the Rialto. It was a stone building owned by the Venetian Tron family...
1637-1812. Site of first commercial opera, Francesco Mannelli's Andromeda, in 1637. Demolished 1812. - Teatro Santi Giovanni e PaoloTeatro Santi Giovanni e PaoloThe Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo was a theatre and opera house in Venice located on the Calle della Testa, and takes its name from the nearby Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice. Built by the Grimani family in 1638, in its heyday it was considered the most beautiful and comfortable theatre...
1638-1715; a theatre owned by the Grimani family on the Calle della Testa. - Teatro Novissimo 1640-1645. Six seasons, six operas.
- Teatro San MoisèTeatro San MoisèThe Teatro San Moisè was an opera house in Venice, active from 1640 to 1818. It was in a prominent location near the Palazzo Giustinian and the church of San Moisè at the entrance to the Grand Canal....
1640-1818. Near the Palazzo GiustinianPalazzo GiustinianThe Palazzo Giustinian is a palace in Venice, northern Italy, situated in the Dorsoduro district and overlooking the Grand Canal next to Ca' Foscari. It is among the best examples of the late Venetian Gothic. The home was the final residence of Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France.The edifice...
and the Church of San Moisè at the entrance to the Grand Canal. - Teatro SS. Apostoli 1648-
- Teatro S. Apollinare. 1651
- Teatro San SamueleTeatro San SamueleTeatro San Samuele was an opera house and theatre located at the Rio del Duca, between Campo San Samuele and Campo Santo Stefano, in Venice. One of several important theatres built in that city by the Grimani family, the theatre opened in 1656 and operated continuously until a fire destroyed the...
1665-1889. Founded in 1655 by the Grimani family. The theatre was active up until 1889. It stood on the Rio del Duca and was demolished in 1894. "It is a pretty theatre well adapted for hearing. Opera buffas are performed here" (Murray, 1860) - Teatro San AngeloTeatro San AngeloThe Teatro San Angelo or Teatro Sant' Angelo was one a theatre in Venice which ran from 1677-1803.It was the last of the major Venetian theatres to be built in the 1650s-60s opera craze following Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in 1654, Teatro San Samuele 1655, Teatro San Salvatore 1661, Teatro San...
. Theatre where Vivaldi produced many of his 100 operas. - Teatro San BenedettoTeatro San BenedettoThe Teatro San Benedetto was a theatre in Venice, particularly prominent in the operatic life of the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It saw the premieres of over 140 operas, including Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and was the theatre of choice for the presentation of opera seria until...
1755-?. Another theatre of the Grimani family, built 1755, burned down 1774, rebuilt. Later "called Teatro Gallo after its proprietor" (Murray, 1860) then renamed Teatro Rossini. - Teatro Ai Saloni of San Gregorio - active circa 1650 for the members of the Academy for spoken drama.
- Teatro a Cannaregio near the Chiesa di San Giobbe. Built by the patrician Marco Morosini for the performance of his opera Ermelinda (1679).
- Teatro alle ZattereTeatro alle ZattereThe Teatro alle Zattere on the Zattere promenade of Ognissanti district was a minor Venetian theatrical opera venue during the 1690s. It saw the premiere of Pistocchino's first opera Il Leandro, dramma per musica su libretto di Camillo Badovero on the 5th May 1679.-See also:Opera houses and...
a private theatre on the promenade in Ognissanti 1679. - Teatro Calle dell'Oca, small theatre 1707
- Teatro Altieri - private theatre in the garden of the Altieri princes. 1690 Gl'amori fortunati negli equivoci.