The Teatro San Moisè was a theatre and opera house in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, active from 1620 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.

History

Built by the San Bernaba branch of the

Giustiniani The House of Giustiniani is the name of a prominent Italian family which originally belonged to Venice, but also established itself in Genoa, and at various times had representatives in Naples, Corsica and in the islands of the Archipelago, where t ...

family c.1620, it was originally a prose theatre. Its first opera production was

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...

's (now lost) opera ''

L'Arianna ' ( SV 291, ''Ariadne'') is the lost second opera by Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi. One of the earliest operas in general, it was composed in 1607–1608 and first performed on 28 May 1608, as part of the musical festivities for a royal wed ...

'' in 1640 by which time the ownership had passed to the Zane family who had long intermarried with the Giustiniani. It was used by the Ferrari company, and the librettist

Giovanni Faustini Giovanni Faustini (1615 – 19 December 1651) was an Italian librettist and opera impresario of the 17th century. He is best remembered for his collaborations with the composer Francesco Cavalli. Life and career Faustini was born in Venice. Impre ...

was one of the theatre's first impresarios.Rosand, Ellen (1990
''Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice: The Creation of a Genre''
pp. 88–124. University of California Press. From the outset it was one of the smaller theatres of Venice, but also one of the most influential. In 1668 it was enlarged to 800 seats, although this did not result in a significant increase on the size of the stage which limited the theatre's ability to stage large-scale productions throughout its existence. In 1674 theatre was revived by the impresario Francesco Santurini, who caused a revolution by halving the price of tickets to 2 lire, leading to an opera 'boom' and a further proliferation of active theatres in the city.Schwager, Myron (August 1986
"Public opera and the trials of the Teatro San Moisè"
''Early Music'', Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 387-396 During the early 18th century Gasparini,

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

and

Albinoni Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni (8 June 1671 – 17 January 1751) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. His output includes operas, concertos, sonatas for one to six instruments, sinfonias, and solo cantatas. While famous in his day as an opera comp ...

were all active in San Moisè. During the 1740s, Neapolitan

opera buffa ''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') 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'', ''dramm ...

reached Venice and San Moisè was one of the first theatres to concentrate on this genre, with works by Baldassare Galuppi, in partnership with

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

, being seen in the theatre. This trend continued through most of the century. In the 1770s and 1780s the theatre was under the control of the prolific librettist

Giovanni Bertati Giovanni Bertati (10 July 1735 – 1 March 1815) was an Italian Libretto, librettist. Bertati was born in Martellago, Italy. In 1763, he wrote his first libretto, ''La morte di Dimone'' ("The Death of Dimone"), set to music by Antonio Tozzi. Two ye ...

, the Poeta Cesareo ("Imperial Poet") of the Italian Opera in Vienna, who concentrated on

drammi giocosi ''Dramma giocoso'' (Italian, literally: drama with jokes; plural: ''drammi giocosi'') is a genre of opera common in the mid-18th century. The term is a contraction of ''dramma giocoso per musica'' and describes the opera's libretto (text). The ge ...

with

Pasquale Anfossi Pasquale Anfossi (5 April 1727 – February 1797) was an Italian opera composer. Born in Taggia, Liguria, he studied with Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini, and worked mainly in London, Venice and Rome. He wrote more than 80 operas, both ...

and other composers. The San Moisè finally closed in 1818 after producing a series of

farse Farse may refer to: * Farsa Farsa (Italian, literally: ''farce'', plural: ''farse'') is a genre of opera, associated with Venice in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is also sometimes called ''farsetta''. Farse were normally one-act o ...

by Rossini. It later re-opened as a puppet theatre and was known as the Teatro Minerva. In July 1896, the Minerva saw Venice's first cinema projection when the

Lumière brothers Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière or Lumieres may refer to: * Lumières, the philosophical movement in the Age of Enlightenment People *Auguste and Louis Lumière, French pioneers in film-making Film and TV * Institut Lumière, ...

brought their equipment to the theatre. It was still being used as a cinema in 1906 but was later demolished. By the end of the 20th century the site was occupied by a shop and a block of flats.Plant, Margaret (2002)
''Venice: Fragile City, 1797-1997''
p. 255. Yale University Press.

Premieres at the theatre

*1642: ''L'amore innamorato'' by

Francesco Cavalli Francesco Cavalli (born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni; 14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early Baroque music, Baroque period. He succeeded his teacher Claudio Monteverd ...

*1649: ''L'Euripo'' by Francesco Cavalli *1685: ''Clearco in Negroponte'' by

Domenico Gabrielli Domenico Gabrielli (15 April 1651 or 19 October 1659 – 10 July 1690) was an Italian Baroque composer and one of the earliest known virtuoso cello players, as well as a pioneer of cello music writing. Born in Bologna, he worked in the orchestra of ...

*1716: '' La costanza trionfante degl'amori e de gl'odii'' by

*1717: ''

Tieteberga ''Tieteberga'' (RV 737) is a partially lost dramma per musica by Antonio Vivaldi. The Italian libretto was by Antonio Maria Lucchini. The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice on 16 October 1717.Armida al campo d'Egitto ''Armida al campo d'Egitto'' is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi to a libretto by Giovanni Palazzo. It was first performed during the Carnival season of 1718 at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice. Vivaldi's version is different from the mo ...

'' by Vivaldi *1718: ''Gl’inganni per vendetta'' by Vivaldi *1750: ''Il mondo nella luna'' by Baldassare Galuppi *1757: ''Merope'' by

Florian Leopold Gassmann Florian Leopold Gassmann (3 May 1729 – 21 January 1774) was a German-speaking Bohemian opera composer of the transitional period between the baroque and classical eras. He was one of the principal composers of '' dramma giocoso'' immed ...

*1758: ''Issipile'' by Leopold Gassmann *1759: ''Gli uccellatori'' by Leopold Gassmann *1760: ''Filosofia in amore'' by Leopold Gassmann *1762: ''Un pazzo ne fa cento'' by Leopold Gassmann *1765: ''L'amore in ballo'' by

Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born in T ...

*1766: ''

Le serve rivali ''Le serve rivali'' is a dramma giocoso per musica in two acts by composer Tommaso Traetta with an Italian libretto by Pietro Chiari. The opera originally premiered in one act as an intermezzo at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice, Italy Ve ...

'' by

Tommaso Traetta Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta (30 March 1727 – 6 April 1779) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic r ...

*1773: ''L'innocente fortunata'' by Giovanni Paisiello *1774: ''Le nozze in contrasto'' by

Giovanni Valentini Giovanni Valentini (ca. 1582 – 29/30 April 1649) was an Italian Baroque composer, poet and keyboard virtuoso. Overshadowed by his contemporaries, Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz, Valentini is practically forgotten today, although he ...

*1775: ''La contadina incivilita'' by

*1775: ''Didone abbandonata'' by Pasquale Anfossi *1775: ''

L'avaro ''The Miser'' ( it, L'avaro) is a 1990 Italian comedy film directed by Tonino Cervi. It is a loose adaptation of Molière's comedy ''The Miser''. Plot The rich and miserly Don Arpagone lives his days following precise patterns and commanding ...

'' by Pasquale Anfossi *1776: ''Le nozze disturbate'' by Giovanni Paisiello *1777: ''Lo sposo disperato'' by Pasquale Anfossi *1778: ''Ezio'' by Pasquale Anfossi *1778: ''La forza delle donne'' by Pasquale Anfossi *1779: ''Azor Re di Kibinga'' by Pasquale Anfossi *1781: ''Gli amanti canuti'' by Pasquale Anfossi *1781: ''Il trionfo di Arianna'' by Pasquale Anfossi *1787: ''L'orfanella americana'' by Pasquale Anfossi *1787: ''

Don Giovanni Tenorio ', (English: ''Don Giovanni, or The Stone Guest'') also known as ''Don Giovanni Tenorio'' is a one-act opera (dramma giocoso) by the Italian composer Giuseppe Gazzaniga. The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Moisè, Venice, on 5 February ...

'' by

Giuseppe Gazzaniga Giuseppe Gazzaniga (5 October 1743 – 1 February 1818) was a member of the Neapolitan school of opera composers. He composed fifty-one operas and is considered to be one of the last Italian opera buffa composers. Biography Born in Verona, G ...

*1801: '' Martino Carbonaro'' by Giuseppe Gazzaniga *1802: ''Le metamorfosi di Pasquale'' by

Gaspare Spontini Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the classical era. Biography Born in Maiolati, Papal State (now Maiolati Spontini, Province of Ancona), he spent most of his ...

*1810: '' Adelina'' by

Pietro Generali Pietro Generali (born Mercandetti Generali; 23 October 1773 – 3 November 1832) was an Italian composer primarily of operas and vocal music. Generali was born in Masserano. He studied counterpoint with Giovanni Masi in Rome and spent a few ...

*1810: ''

La cambiale di matrimonio ''La cambiale di matrimonio'' (; English: ''The Bill of Marriage'' or ''The Marriage Contract'') is a one-act operatic farsa comica by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. The libretto was based on the play by Camillo Federici (1 ...

'' by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

*1811: ''

L'equivoco stravagante ''L'equivoco stravagante'' (; ''The Curious Misunderstanding'') is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Gaetano Gasbarri. It was Rossini's first attempt at writing a full two-act opera. Performa ...

'' by Gioachino Rossini *1812: ''

L'inganno felice ''L'inganno felice'' (''The Fortunate Deception'') is an opera in one act by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa. Rossini called his opera a '' farsa'', although as Richard Osborne explains: "Its designation as a ''farsa'' ...

'' by Gioachino Rossini *1812: '' La scala di seta'' by Gioachino Rossini *1812: ''

L'occasione fa il ladro ''L’occasione fa il ladro, ossia Il cambio della valigia'' ( English: ''Opportunity Makes a Thief, or The Exchanged Suitcase'') is an opera (''burletta per musica'' or '' farsa'') in one act by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Luigi ...

'' by Gioachino Rossini *1813: ''

Il signor Bruschino ''Il signor Bruschino, ossia Il figlio per azzardo'' ''(Signor Bruschino, or The Accidental Son)'' is a one act operatic farce ( farsa giocosa per musica) by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa, based upon the 1809 play ''Le f ...

'' by Gioachino Rossini *1815: ''Bettina vedova'' by Giovanni Pacini

References

*Zoppelli, Luca (1992), 'Venice' in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) {{DEFAULTSORT:Teatro San Moise Theatres in Venice Opera houses in Italy Theatres completed in 1640 Music venues completed in 1640 1640 establishments in the Republic of Venice 1640 establishments in Italy

History

Premieres at the theatre

See also

References