Teatro Ponchielli
Encyclopedia
The Teatro Communale Ponchielli, as it has been known since 1986, is an opera house
located in Cremona
, Italy
. For more than 250 years it has been that city's primary venue for opera and other theatrical presentations.
The original theatre, built in 1747, was named the Teatro Nazari, but it was re-named as the Teatro della Società in 1785. It was sometimes referred to as the Nobile Associazione. After the original theatre burned down in 1806, construction began on the present theatre soon after. The current theatre was designed by Luigi Canonica
and it opened in 1808 under the name the Teatro della Concordia. Its name was changed again to the Teatro Ponchielli in 1907 after the famous native of Cremona, Amilcare Ponchielli
.
In 1986 the theatre was purchased by the city of Cremona which re-named it once again as it is known today. The opening performance took place on 4 October and featured performances on the city-owned Stradivari "Il Cremonese" and Guarneri
"del Gesu" violins of 1715 and 1734 respectively.
With its original horseshoe-shaped auditorium, the theatre was remodeled in 1989 to create three box tiers and two galleries with a total of 1,249 seats.
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
located in Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. For more than 250 years it has been that city's primary venue for opera and other theatrical presentations.
The original theatre, built in 1747, was named the Teatro Nazari, but it was re-named as the Teatro della Società in 1785. It was sometimes referred to as the Nobile Associazione. After the original theatre burned down in 1806, construction began on the present theatre soon after. The current theatre was designed by Luigi Canonica
Luigi Canonica
Luigi Canonica was a Swiss architect and urban planner whose prominent career as an exponent of neoclassicism was spent largely in Milan and Lombardy. He was the designated architect of the short-lived Repubblica Cisalpina, and, following the fall of the Napoleonic empire, of the kings of Sardinia...
and it opened in 1808 under the name the Teatro della Concordia. Its name was changed again to the Teatro Ponchielli in 1907 after the famous native of Cremona, Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli was an Italian composer, largely of operas.-Biography:Born in Paderno Fasolaro, now Paderno Ponchielli, near Cremona, Ponchielli won a scholarship at the age of nine to study music at the Milan Conservatory, writing his first symphony by the time he was ten years old.Two years...
.
In 1986 the theatre was purchased by the city of Cremona which re-named it once again as it is known today. The opening performance took place on 4 October and featured performances on the city-owned Stradivari "Il Cremonese" and Guarneri
Guarneri
The Guarneri is the family name of a group of distinguished luthiers from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati and Stradivari families...
"del Gesu" violins of 1715 and 1734 respectively.
With its original horseshoe-shaped auditorium, the theatre was remodeled in 1989 to create three box tiers and two galleries with a total of 1,249 seats.