Teatro Alfieri, Florence, design by Vittorio Bellini, 1828

The Teatro Alfieri was a major theatre and opera house in 18th and 19th century

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, located at Via dell'Ulivo #6 corner Via Pietrapiana in the

, region of Tuscany, Italy.

History

It was constructed originally in 1740 by members of the ''Accademia dei Risoluti''. At that time it was known as the ''Teatro di Santa Maria'' (the name of a nearby street) or the ''Teatro Risoluti''. The theatre underwent extensive reconstruction and enlargement in 1828, supervised by the architect Vittorio Bellini (1798 - 1860). It re-opened as the Teatro Alfieri, named in honour of the playwright

Vittorio Alfieri Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography. Early life Alfieri was b ...

. In its heyday, the theatre interior decorations were elaborate, was used for both prose drama and operas. In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, it also became known as a performance venue for plays written in the

Florentine dialect The Florentine dialect or vernacular ( or ) is a variety of Tuscan, a Romance language spoken in the Italian city of Florence and its immediate surroundings. A received pedagogical variant derived from it historically, once called (literally, ...

. The theatre was demolished in 1928 when the Fascist government of Florence re-developed the Santa Croce district.

Premieres

*''L'amore in guerra'', opera by Luigi Maria Viviani, 8 February 1829 *''Matilde a Toledo'', opera by

Teodulo Mabellini Teodulo Mabellini (2 April 1817 – 10 March 1897) was an Italian composer. Life Early education in Pistoia and Firenze He was the son of Vincenzo, a strumentaio (maker of musical instruments) specialized in wind instruments.Francesco Bussi, ' ...

, 27 August 1836 *''Romilda e Ezzelino'', opera by

Abramo Basevi Abramo Basevi (December 1818 – November 1885) was an Italian musicologist and composer. Basevi was born in Livorno. He began as a physician in Florence (1858) but then devoted himself exclusively to music. His first attempts as a composer fail ...

, 11 August 1840 *''Le educande di Sorrento'', opera by

Emilio Usiglio Emilio Usiglio (18 January 1841 in Parma – 7 July 1910 in Milan) was an Italian composer and conductor. Life and career Usiglio studied music in Parma, first with Giuseppe Barbacini and then with Giovanni Rossi, before continuing his educa ...

1 May 1868 *''Nozze sospirate'', opera by Oreste Carlini, 10 January 1888 *''Una partita a scacchi'', opera by Enrico Ranfagni, 13 February 1892 *''In congedo'', opera by Cesare Bacchini, 1 October 1898 *''Sarrona'', opera by William Legrand Howland, 3 February 1906 (Italian premiere)Hipsher, Edward Ellsworth (1927)
''American Opera''
p. 270. *''L'acqua cheta'', play in Florentine dialect by Augusto Novelli, 29 January 1908

Accademia della Crusca The Accademia della Crusca (; "Academy of the Bran"), generally abbreviated as La Crusca, is a Florence-based society of scholars of Italian linguistics and philology. It is one of the most important research institutions of the Italian language ...

(2003)
''Studi di grammatica italiana''
, p. 112. *''Il pateracchio'', play in Florentine dialect by Ferdinando Paolieri, 2 February 1910

References

*Dell'Amore, Franco (2011)
''Le vite dei cesenati''
Vol. 5, pp, 182–195. Editrice Stilgraf *Formigli, Giuseppe (1830)
''Guida per la città di Firenze e suoi contorni''
Presso Giuseppe Formigli, Libraio al Canto al Diamante *Garlington, Aubrey S. (2005
''Society, Culture and Opera in Florence, 1814-1830''
p. 48. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. {{authority control Opera houses in Italy Theatres in Florence Buildings and structures demolished in 1928 Theatres completed in 1740 Music venues completed in 1740 Theatres completed in 1828 Music venues completed in 1828