Angelo Carasale was an Italian architect and the one primarily responsible for the elaborate furnishings of the new San Carlo

Teatro di San Carlo

The Real Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy. It is the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe.Founded by the Bourbon Charles VII of Naples of the Spanish branch of the dynasty, the theatre was inaugurated on 4 November 1737 — the king's name day — with a performance...

 opera house in Naples in 1737. Alexandre Dumas, père

Alexandre Dumas, père

Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...

, in his The Bourbons of Naples (book 1, chapter 4) recounts the well-known tale (now regarded by most as apochryphal) that the king was so taken by the beauty of the theater that he personally presented Carasale to the public for applause, remarking that the only thing lacking from the new theater was a private passageway for royalty from the adjacent Royal Palace

Royal Palace (Naples)

The Royal Palace is a palace in Naples, southern Italy. It is one of the four residences used by the Bourbon Kings of Naples during their rule of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies : one is in Caserta, another on the Capodimonte hill overlooking Naples, and the third is in Portici on the slopes of...

. The anecdote says that, a few hours later, upon completion of the opera (Achille in Sciro

Achille in Sciro

Achille in Sciro is an opera seria by composer Domenico Sarro. The opera uses an Italian language libretto by Pietro Metastasio. It was commissioned for the opening of the Teatro di San Carlo by Charles III of Spain, also known as Charles VII of Naples...

by Domenico Sarro

Domenico Sarro

Domenico Natale Sarro, also Sarri was an Italian composer.He studied at the Neapolitan conservatory of S. Onofrio. He composed extensively in the early 18th century. His opera Didone abbandonata, premiered on 1 February 1724 at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples, was the first setting of a major...

), Carasale approached the king and notified him that the passageway was ready.

Carasale subsequently served as impresario

Impresario

An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...

 of the San Carlo opera house for the first four years of its existence.

Earlier, Carasale had been the architect given the task of redesigning San Carlo's predecessor, the small San Bartolomeo theater, so that it might be converted into a church. He also worked on the interiors of a number of Neapolitan churches. Apparently, Carasale was imprisoned in the fortress of Sant'Elmo on charges of having diverted funds meant for the San Carlo theater. Some sources says that he "died in disgrace."

Sources

• Felice de Filippis (ed.). Il Teatro di S. Carlo. (Naples: Ente Autonomo del Teatro di San Carlo, 1951).
• William Holmes. Opera Observed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993) p. 98