Teatro San Ferdinando is a theatre in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is named after King Ferdinand I of

. Located near Ponte Nuovo, it is to the southeast of the Teatro Totò in the western part of the neighborhood of Arenaccia. Built in the late eighteenth century, the seats are arranged in four box tiers, and the pit. It is most associated with

Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo (; 24 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and '' Napoli Milionaria''. Consid ...

and the productions of the 1950s under his direction. Closed in the 1980s and reopened in 2007, the San Fernando is managed by the Teatro Stabile of Naples.

History

Early years

Built during the period of 1788 to 1790, it opened with the

Domenico Cimarosa Domenico Cimarosa (; 17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan school and of the Classical period. He wrote more than eighty operas, the best known of which is ''Il matrimonio segreto'' (1792); most of his ...

opera, ''Il falegname'' ("The Carpenter"). ''La Villana Riconosciuta'', another of Cimarosa's operas, had debuted in Naples in 1783 at the

Teatro del Fondo The Teatro del Fondo is a theatre in Naples, now known as the Teatro Mercadante. It is located on Piazza del Municipio, Naples, Piazza del Municipio #1, with the front facing the west side of Castel Nuovo, Naples, Castel Nuovo and near the Molo (Doc ...

, and opened the Teatro San Ferdinando season in 1791. From the beginning, the theatre had problems, undergoing different administrations, soon becoming a venue for smaller companies and for an aristocratic audience. Between 1814 and 1818, a new building was constructed for the theatre, situated on the perimeter walls of a desecrated church. By 1829, it was rarely open. The

Pulcinella Pulcinella (; nap, Pulecenella) is a classical character that originated in of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Pulcinella's versatility in status and attitude has captivated audiences worldwide and kept t ...

actor

Antonio Petito Antonio Petito (22 June 1822, in Naples – 24 March 1876) was an Italian stage actor and playwright. He was a notable Pulcinella performer, and an important figure of Neapolitan theater in the 19th century. Petito was the son of another Pulcin ...

first performed here in 1831; his great-grandson,

Enzo Petito Enzo Petito (24 July 1897 – 17 July 1967) was an Italian film and stage character actor. A theatre actor under Eduardo De Filippo in the 1950s in the Teatro San Ferdinando of Naples, with whom he was professionally closely associated, Petito al ...

, performed at this theatre many years later. On November 30, 1843, Marzio Gaetano Carafa, principle of Colubrano, sold the theatre to Enrico del Prete, who then sublet it to Adamo Alberti (1809–1885), comedian and impresario of the

Teatro dei Fiorentini Theatres for diverse musical and dramatic presentations began to open in Naples, Italy, in the mid-16th century as part of the general Spanish cultural and political expansion into the kingdom of Naples, which had just become a vicerealm of Spain. ...

. While ''

Giovanna d'Arco ''Giovanna d'Arco'' (''Joan of Arc'') is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, who had prepared the libretti for ''Nabucco'' and ''I Lombardi''. It is Verdi ...

'' was performed at the San Ferdinando in early 1855;. an 1855 handbook included criticism of the theatre, noting its amateur performances. In 1886, it debuted the actor Federico Stella (1842–1927) taking the stage in '' Crescenzo Di Maio''. The typographer Luigi Bartolomeo and the impresario Salvatore Golia bought a part of the theatre. In the 1889-1890 season, the theatre also welcomed the success of

Eduardo Scarpetta Eduardo Scarpetta (13 March 1853 – 12 November 1925) was an Italian actor and playwright from Naples. Biography Although not from a theatrical family, he was on the stage by the age of four and is today best remembered as the creator of a c ...

. Golia and his wife Raffaella Salvatore Bartolomeo (sister of Louis), became the sole owners of the theatre, and he entrusted the management to his son Giuseppe. In 1896, the theatre put on a performance of ''

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

''.

Later years

Salvatore Di Giacomo Salvatore Di Giacomo (12 March 1860 – 5 April 1934) was an Italian poet, songwriter, playwright and fascist, one of the signatories to the Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals. Di Giacomo is credited as being one of those responsible for ...

's ''O mese mariano'' debuted at the San Ferdinando on 24 January 1900. In the 1930s, Golia, attempting to manage debt, rented the building. The theatre was transformed into "Cinema Teatro Principe" until September 3, 1943 when American and German bombs destroyed it almost completely. Golia sold the ruins to De Filippo on February 25, 1948, who invested in the reconstruction of the theatre with his earnings from his movies, and with bank loans, forming his ''Il Teatro di Eduardo''. Following the purchase, the SIT Società Imprese Teatrali ran "Il Teatro di Eduardo" and a second company, "La Scarpettiana". In 1954, a new company, "San Ferdinando Film", ran a six show series of the Il Teatro di Eduardo and De Filippo continued to work in cinema to pay for theatre restoration. One of the shows, ''Palummella zompa e vola'' (Palummella Leaps and Flies) was an Antonio Petito farce, with De Filippo in the role of Pulcinella. In 1956, the company became "Il Teatro San Ferdinando s.r.l" and the theatre was improved to hold 1150 seats. In its prime in the late 1950s, the theatre featured actors such as

Enzo Cannavale Vincenzo "Enzo" Cannavale (5 April 1928 – 18 March 2011) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films since 1949, including ''Cinema Paradiso'', which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 62nd Academ ...

Ettore Carloni Ettore is a given name, the Italian version of Hector. People *Ettore Arrigoni degli Oddi (1867–1942), Italian naturalist *Ettore Bassi (born 1970), Italian actor and television presenter *Ettore Bastianini (1922–1967), Italian opera singer *Et ...

, Gennarion Palumbo,

Pietro Carloni Pietro Carloni (28 October 1896 – 3 August 1968) was an Italian stage and film actor. Life and career Born in Taurisano, Lecce into a family of actors, Carloni debuted on stage at young age in the theatrical company held by Ernesto Murolo. I ...

Lello Grotta Lello is a surname. It may refer to: Given name *Lello Arena (born 1953) Italian actor, comedian and television personality * Lello da Orvieto (1315–1340), Italian painter and mosaicist * Lello Voce (born 1957), Italian poet, writer and journalis ...

, Enzo Petito,

Pietro De Vico Pietro De Vico (1 February 1911 – 10 December 1999) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1948 and 1991. He was born in Naples, and died in Rome. He was married, from 1937 until his death in 1999, to actress Anna Campo ...

, Cilelia Matania, Graziella Marina,

Pupella Maggio Pupella Maggio (born Giustina Maria Maggio) (24 April 1910 – 8 December 1999) was an Italian film actress. Life and career Born in Naples into a family of actors, Maggio debuted on stage aged twelve years old, as the sidekick of her brother ...

Antonio Casagrande Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

, Angela Pagano, Anna Maria Colonna, Nina De Padova, Riccardo Grillo, Vittorio Ardesi,

Giorgio Manganelli Giorgio Manganelli (15 November 1922 – 28 May 1990) was an Italian journalist, avant-garde writer, translator and literary critic. A native of Milan, he was one of the leaders of the avant-garde literary movement in Italy in the 1960s, Gruppo 6 ...

, Liana Tronche, Maria Hilde Renzi, Andrea Biello, Olga D' Ajello, Scilla Vannucci, and Nico Da Zara. Debts, however, forced De Filippo to dissolve the Scarpettiana in 1960 and to close the San Fernando in 1961. In 1964, the theatre became the "Teatrale Napoletana", a company founded by

Paolo Grassi Paolo Grassi (30 October 1919 – 14 March 1981) was an Italian theatrical impresario. Grassi was born in Milan, Italy. As a young man, he worked in magazines and discovered a passion for the theater. It led him in 1937 to create a Bertoldissimo ...

and

Giorgio Strehler Giorgio Strehler (; ; 14 August 1921 – 25 December 1997) was an actor, Italian opera and theatre director. Biography Strehler was born in Barcola, Trieste; His father, Bruno Strehler, was a native of Trieste with family roots in Vienna and died ...

, founders and owners of the

Piccolo Teatro di Milano The Piccolo Teatro di Milano (translation: "Little Theatre of the City of Milan") is a theatre in Milan, Italy. Founded in 1947, it is Italy's first permanent theatre, and a national "teatro stabile", or permanent repertory company, and is conside ...

. The program was ambitious and prestigious: a cultural bridge between two very different realities, Naples and Milan. De Filippo continued to be involved with the theatre and in the early 1970s he decided to create a research centre and museum at the theater, the Archives of Eduardo De Filippo. In 1996, the theatre was donated by De Filippo's son, Luca, to the City of Naples for restoration into a performance venue. The Archives were transferred in the following year to the Società Napoletana di Storia Patria. On 30 September 2007, after many years of restoration and large investments, the San Fernando reopened its doors with

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's '' The Tempest'', in the translation made by Eduardo De Filippo in 1984. The San Ferdinando is managed by the Teatro Stabile of Naples.

References

Bibliography

*Vittorio Buttafava, ''I guadagni di Eduardo nel pozzo del S. Ferdinando'', ''Oggi'', a. XI, n. 11, 17 February 1955, p. 52. *Filippo D’Ambrosio, ''L’Amministrazione Comunale di Napoli per una nuova politica teatrale'', Napoli, Giannini, 1964. *Isabella Quarantotti De Filippo, ''Eduardo polemiche, pensieri, pagine inedite'', Milano, Bompiani, 1985. *''Eduardo De Filippo e il Teatro San Ferdinando'', programma di sala per l’inaugurazione del San Ferdinando, Napoli, Ed. Arte Tipografica, 1954. *Costantino De Simone Minaci, ''Federico Stella e il S. Ferdinando'', ''TeatroScenario'', a. XVI, nn. 17-18, 15 September 1952, pp. 57–60. *Costantino De Simone Minaci, ''Il San Ferdinando e i teatri popolari del secondo Ottocento'', ''Il Mezzogiorno'', 31 March 1954. *''Donizetti e i teatri napoletani nell’Ottocento'', a cura di Franco Mancini-Sergio Ragni, Napoli, Electa, 1997. *Gennaro Magliulo, ''In Consiglio Comunale non si parla di teatro'', ''Il Pungolo'', Napoli, 10 July 1965. *Indro Montanelli, ''Eduardo'', ''Corriere della Sera'', 11 July 1959. *Umberto Onorato, ''Fasti dell’antico San Ferdinando'', ''TeatroScenario'', a. XVI, n. 10, 15 May 1952, pp. 42–4. *Vito Pandolfi, ''Realizzazione di un sogno'', ''Il dramma'', a. 30, n. 198, 1º February 1954, pp. 60–1. *Maria Procino Santarelli, ''Eduardo dietro le quinte. Un capocomico-impresario attraverso cinquant'anni di storia, censura e sovvenzioni (1920-1970)'', Roma, Bulzoni, 2003. *Paolo Ricci, ''Eduardo riapre il San Ferdinando'', ''L’Unità'', 18 October1964. *Lucio Ridenti, ''Sono stato da Eduardo'', ''Il dramma'', a. 30, n. 202, 1º April 1954, pp. 44–5. *Paolo Sommaiolo, ''Il Café-Chantant. Artisti e ribalte nella Napoli della Belle Époque'', Napoli, Tempo Lungo, 1998. *Carlo Trabucco, ''Eduardo napoletano del mondo ha dato una casa a Pulcinella'', ''L’Avvenire d’Italia'', 24 June 1954. *Giulio Trevisani, ''De Filippo ha compiuto a Napoli il miracolo del "San Ferdinando"'', in ''L’Unità'', 15 December 1953. *Vittorio Viviani, ''Storia del teatro napoletano'', Napoli, Guida Editore, 1969.

External links

Official site
{{Coord, 40, 51, 26, N, 14, 15, 49, E, region:IT-72_type:landmark, display=title Theatres in Naples 1790 establishments in Italy