Politeama Rossetti is an Italian theatre situated in the city of Trieste

Trieste

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

. With over 60 shows scheduled each season, running from October to June, its stage shows include plays, musicals, ballet, dance and rock concerts.

It is the home of Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of Italy's major public theatres. The artistic director is Antonio Calenda.

The theatre was built in 1878 and designed by Nicolò Bruno. It was heavily restored in 1928, 1969 and 1999. While the original capacity was of over 5.000, it can now sit 1.531.

In the recent years the theatre has specialised in the presentation of major West End and Broadway musicals, including the original productions of Cats

Cats (musical)

Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...

 in 2008, Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...

, The Rocky Horror Show

The Rocky Horror Show

The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...

  and Chicago

Chicago (musical)

Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...

 in 2009. In 2010 the theatre staged We Will Rock You

We Will Rock You

"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. Rolling Stone ranked it #330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century...

, featuring the music of Queen, the acclaimed 50th anniversary production of West Side Story

West Side Story

West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...

 and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita. In 2011 the theatre hosted the Italian premieres of the musicals Chess

Chess (musical)

Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...

 and Spamalot

Spamalot

Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...

.