Teatro Lirico (Milan)
Encyclopedia
The Teatro Lirico is a theatre in Milan
, Italy
. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was particularly notable for opera
performances, including the world premieres of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
and Giordano
's Fedora
. The theatre, located on Via Rastrelli, closed in 1998. However, a restoration project was begun in April 2007, and it was due to re-open in 2009 as the Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber
.
was commissioned to design and build two new theatres on land surrounding the Palace. The church of Santa Maria della Scala was demolished to build the Teatro alla Scala
. A second theatre was built nearby, on the site of the Scuole Cannobiane and was called the Teatro alla Canobbiana. It was inaugurated on August 21, 1779 (a little more than year after the opening of La Scala) with an opera buffa
and ballet
by Salieri. Like La Scala and many Italian opera houses of the time, it was built in a horseshoe shape, surmounted by a cupola
, with four tiers of boxes and a gallery (or loggione). For nearly a century it was Milan's second opera.
By the 1880s, with the increasing lack of public funds and fewer and fewer private subscriptions, the Teatro alla Canobbiana had fallen on hard times. In 1894, it was taken over by Edoardo Sonzogno
and renamed the Teatro Lirico Internazionale, although it is normally referred to in Milan simply as the Teatro Lirico. The theatre continued to be used for opera, ballet, and plays into the 20th century, but was taken over by the city of Milan in 1926, after which it was increasingly used for public assemblies. It was in the Teatro Lirico that Benito Mussolini
made one of his first public speeches in 1921 and his last public speech and radio broadcast in 1944. The building was badly damaged by a fire in 1938, but was repaired in time to host the 1943 season for La Scala
after its own theatre had been largely destroyed by the American aerial bombardment of Milan during World War II
.
Theatrical performances, and public meetings resumed after the War, and for a period in the 1960s, the Teatro Lirico was the home of Giorgio Strehler
's Piccolo Teatro di Milano. In 1998, facing financial difficulties, Milan could no longer afford to run the theatre, and in the absence of outside funding, it was closed.
In April 2007, after several false starts, work was begun to renovate and modernise the theatre while keeping the Piermarini facade and the basic design of the original interior. When it re-opens, it will be called the Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber
in honour of the Milanese singer, songwriter, actor and playwright who had frequently performed at the Teatro Lirico from the early 1960s until its closure in 1998. The renovated theatre will also house the archives of the Fondazione Giorgio Gaber.
Ballet
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was particularly notable for opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
performances, including the world premieres of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
and Giordano
Umberto Giordano
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...
's Fedora
Fedora (Giordano)
Fedora is an opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play Fédora by Victorien Sardou. Along with Andrea Chénier and Siberia, it is one of the most notable works of Giordano...
. The theatre, located on Via Rastrelli, closed in 1998. However, a restoration project was begun in April 2007, and it was due to re-open in 2009 as the Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber
Giorgio Gaber
Giorgio Gaber, byname of Giorgio Gaberscik , was an Italian singer-songwriter, actor and playwright. He was also an accomplished guitar player and author of one of the first rock songs in Italian...
.
History
The Court Theatre of the Ducal Palace in Milan was destroyed by fire on February 26, 1776. With the city deprived of its only theatre, Giuseppe PiermariniGiuseppe Piermarini
Giuseppe Piermarini was an Italian architect who trained with Luigi Vanvitelli at Rome and designed the Teatro alla Scala, Milan , which remains the work by which he is remembered. Indeed, "il Piermarini" serves as an occasional euphemism for the celebrated opera house...
was commissioned to design and build two new theatres on land surrounding the Palace. The church of Santa Maria della Scala was demolished to build the Teatro alla Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
. A second theatre was built nearby, on the site of the Scuole Cannobiane and was called the Teatro alla Canobbiana. It was inaugurated on August 21, 1779 (a little more than year after the opening of La Scala) with an opera buffa
Opera buffa
Opera buffa is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ‘commedia in musica’, ‘commedia per musica’, ‘dramma bernesco’, ‘dramma comico’, ‘divertimento giocoso' etc...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
by Salieri. Like La Scala and many Italian opera houses of the time, it was built in a horseshoe shape, surmounted by a cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
, with four tiers of boxes and a gallery (or loggione). For nearly a century it was Milan's second opera.
By the 1880s, with the increasing lack of public funds and fewer and fewer private subscriptions, the Teatro alla Canobbiana had fallen on hard times. In 1894, it was taken over by Edoardo Sonzogno
Edoardo Sonzogno
Edoardo Sonzogno was an Italian publisher.A native of Milan, Sonzogno was the son of a businessman who owned a printing plant and bookstore; when he inherited the business upon his father's death he set about turning it into a publishing house, Casa Sonzogno, which opened in 1874...
and renamed the Teatro Lirico Internazionale, although it is normally referred to in Milan simply as the Teatro Lirico. The theatre continued to be used for opera, ballet, and plays into the 20th century, but was taken over by the city of Milan in 1926, after which it was increasingly used for public assemblies. It was in the Teatro Lirico that Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
made one of his first public speeches in 1921 and his last public speech and radio broadcast in 1944. The building was badly damaged by a fire in 1938, but was repaired in time to host the 1943 season for La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
after its own theatre had been largely destroyed by the American aerial bombardment of Milan during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Theatrical performances, and public meetings resumed after the War, and for a period in the 1960s, the Teatro Lirico was the home of Giorgio Strehler
Giorgio Strehler
Giorgio Strehler was an Italian opera and theatre director.-Biography:Strehler was born in Barcola, Trieste to an Austrian father and a Franco-Slovene mother; he grew up speaking Italian but spoke French well and his German was passable. He became suddenly fatherless at the age of three, his...
's Piccolo Teatro di Milano. In 1998, facing financial difficulties, Milan could no longer afford to run the theatre, and in the absence of outside funding, it was closed.
In April 2007, after several false starts, work was begun to renovate and modernise the theatre while keeping the Piermarini facade and the basic design of the original interior. When it re-opens, it will be called the Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber
Giorgio Gaber
Giorgio Gaber, byname of Giorgio Gaberscik , was an Italian singer-songwriter, actor and playwright. He was also an accomplished guitar player and author of one of the first rock songs in Italian...
in honour of the Milanese singer, songwriter, actor and playwright who had frequently performed at the Teatro Lirico from the early 1960s until its closure in 1998. The renovated theatre will also house the archives of the Fondazione Giorgio Gaber.
World Premieres
Opera- Vaccaj 's Romeo e Giulietta - October 31, 1825
- PugniCesare PugniCesare Pugni was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. In his early career he composed operas, symphonies, and various other forms of orchestral music. Pugni is most noted for the ballets he composed while serving as Composer of the Ballet Music to Her Majesty's Theatre...
's Il Disertore Svizzero - 1831 - Donizetti's L'elisir d'amoreL'elisir d'amoreL'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
- May 12, 1832 - Cilea's L'ArlesianaL'arlesianaL'arlesiana is an opera in three acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Leopoldo Marenco. It was originally written in four acts, and was first performed on 27 November 1897 at the Teatro Lirico di Milano in Milan...
- November 27, 1897 - GiordanoUmberto GiordanoUmberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...
's FedoraFedora (Giordano)Fedora is an opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play Fédora by Victorien Sardou. Along with Andrea Chénier and Siberia, it is one of the most notable works of Giordano...
- November 17, 1898 - Leoncavallo's ZazàZazàZazà is an opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo, with the libretto by the composer. Its première at the Teatro Lirico di Milano on November 10, 1900, starring Rosina Storchio as Zazà, Edoardo Garbin as Milio, Mario Sammarco as Cascart and Clorinda Pini-Corsi as Anaïde, and conducted by Arturo Toscanini,...
- November 10, 1900 - Cilea's Adriana LecouvreurAdriana LecouvreurAdriana Lecouvreur is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé...
- November 6, 1902 - Giordano's Marcella - November 9, 1907
- LehárFranz LehárFranz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:...
's Gigolette - December 30, 1926
Ballet
- Ponchielli's Il genio della montagna February, 1874