What are some of the more famous Italian Opera Houses and what premiered there?

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Unquestionably, the most notable opera house in the world is without a doubt the famed La Scala in Milan. Its contribution to the world of opera cannot be overstated. It would take several pages to list its many great premieres properly. The second listed, La Fenice in Venice, had been rebuilt after burning down on two occasions in 1836 and more recently in 1996. And while the Teatro San Carlo in Naples is considered the oldest opera house in Europe, at present, the Arena of Verona boasts being the biggest opera theatre in the world.

It should be noted that this list by no means discounts the contributions of the great German composers like Wagner or French composers like Bizet for example. Of the following below, in the parenthesis are listed the composer, the opera, and its year of debut in that order. See www.operasonline.com

  • Teatro della Scala in Milan (Verdi’s Falstaff-1893); (Verdi’s Othello-1887); (Puccini’s Madame Butterfly-1904); (Puccini’s Turandot-1926) See www.lascala.milano.it
  • Teatro La Fenice in Venice (Verdi’s Rigoletto-1861); (Verdi’s La Traviata-1853); (Rossini’s Tancredi-1813) See www.teatrolafenice.it
  • Teatro San Carlo in Naples (Bellini’s Bianca e Gernando-1826); (Donizetti’s Robert Devereux-1837); (Pacini’s Saffo-1840) See www.teatrosancarlo.it
  • Teatro Regio in Turin (Puccini’s Manon Lescaut-1893); (Puccini’s La Boheme-1896) See www.teatroregio.torino.it
  • Teatro Argentina in Rome (Rossini’s Barber of Seville-1816)

Incidentally, four other very important opera centers would be Paris (see www.opera-in-paris.fr); Vienna (see www.wiener.staatsoper.at); and Berlin (see www.staatsoper-berlin.de); and Budapest, Hungary (see www. )