The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) is a prominent

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

company in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy. Its season runs from October to June with the presentation of eight or nine operas given from five to twelve performances of each. Several buildings provided venues for operatic productions in Turin from the mid-16th century, but it was not until 1713 that a proper opera house was considered, and under the architect

Filippo Juvarra Filippo is an Italian language, Italian male given name, which is the equivalent of the English language, English name Philip (name), Philip, from the Greek language, Greek ''Philippos'', meaning "amante dei cavalli".''Behind the Name''"Given Name ...

planning began. However, the cornerstone was not laid until the reign of Charles Emmanuel III in 1738 after Juvarra's death. The work was supervised by Benedetto Alfieri until the theatre was completed and decorated by

Bernardino Galliari Bernardino Galliari (1707–1794) was an Italian painter, active mainly as a scenic designer and decorator of theaters. Biography He was born at Andorno in the Province of Biella in the Piedmont. He painted an ''Adoration of the Shepherds'' by ...

Teatro Regio, 1740 to 1936

The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) was inaugurated on 26 December 1740 with Francesco Feo's ''Arsace''. It was a sumptuously built facility, seating 1,500 and with 139 boxes located on five tiers plus a gallery. However, the theatre was closed on royal order in 1792 and it became a warehouse. With the French occupation of Turin during the

Napoleonic War The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

the theatre was renamed the ''Teatro Nazionale'' and finally, after

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

's ascent to Emperor, renamed again as the ''Teatro Imperiale''. Napoleon's fall in 1814 saw the theatre returned to its original name, the ''Regio''. In the following years the opera house went through several periods of financial crisis and it was taken over by the city in 1870. Other theatres were built and presented seasons of opera in Turin. Among them was the restored Teatro Carignano in 1824. It too was acquired by the municipality in 1932 and, after the destruction by fire of the Teatro Regio in 1936, the Carignano was to serve as the main venue for opera in the city until the Regio reopened in 1973. Even before it burnt down, discussions about whether to rebuild the Regio or create a brand new theatre preoccupied Turin in the early twentieth century. Two plans were presented and the one selected expanded the

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

to 2,415 by removing the fourth and fifth levels of boxes and creating a huge amphitheatre. Work was completed in 1905 but the theatre closed during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and re-opened in 1919. Until February 1936, seasons of opera were presented until fire destroyed all but the facade of the Teatro Regio. It remained closed for thirty-seven years.

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

was the conductor of the Turin Opera from 1895 to 1898, during which time several productions of the works of

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

were given Italian premieres.

Rebuilt Teatro Regio after 1973

Following the fire, a national competition was launched to find an architect. However, with the war and the overall financial situation, the foundation stone was not laid until 25 September 1963. Even then, work did not start until September 1967 under architect Carlo Mollino. The rebuilt theatre, with its striking contemporary interior design but hidden behind the original facade, was inaugurated on 10 April 1973 with a production of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the ...

's '' I vespri siciliani'' directed by

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

and Giuseppe Di Stefano. The new house seats 1,750 and is elliptical in shape with a large orchestra level and 37 boxes around its perimeter. An acoustic shell was added to improve its sound. The house presents a wide range of operas during its seasons, including contemporary works, although in the first years of the new century financial pressures have made the programming somewhat more conservative and favoring more 19th-century operas.

Facade

The building's outer facade is made from brick with a unique

brickwork Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by si ...

pattern using custom cut bricks to create a relief of stars which seems to overlap its self continuously like the scales of a fish. This is an illusion created by the uniquely designed masonry pattern as the wall is actually straight. The shadows created by the protruding parts enforce this illusion and the complex pattern reinforces this illusion. The facade of the Teatro Regio is one of the Piedmontese buildings that are part of the

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

References

*Lynn, Karyl Charna, ''Italian Opera Houses and Festivals'', Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2005. *Plantamura, Carol, ''The Opera Lover's Guide to Europe'', New York: Citadel Press, 1996.

External links

* * {{authority control Opera houses in Italy Theatres in Piedmont Music in Turin Italian opera companies Teatro Regio (Turin) Teatro Regio (Turin) Theatres completed in 1740 Theatres completed in 1973 Music venues completed in 1740 Music venues completed in 1973

Teatro Regio, 1740 to 1936

Rebuilt Teatro Regio after 1973

Facade

See also

References

External links