The Teatro San Carlo in Naples, opened in 1737 under King Charles VII of Bourbon, is the oldest still-active opera house in Europe — 41 years older than Milan's Scala. The hall with six tiers of boxes and around 1,380 seats was rebuilt by architect Antonio Niccolini in Neoclassical style after a fire in 1816. Stendhal wrote about the hall: There is nothing in all of Europe even remotely comparable to it. Composers like Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini, who was artistic director from 1815 to 1822, worked here. Today the house is a major site of Italian operatic tradition with a focus on the bel canto repertoire.
On the San Carlo stage the young Caruso is said to have once failed — afterwards he reportedly swore never to sing in Naples again, and actually kept that promise.
At a glance
- Type
- Opera house
- Location
- Naples, Italy
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