Teatro di San Carlo

Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy, opened in 1737. It is among Europe’s oldest continuously active public opera venues.

Charles VII of Naples: Charles VII ruled Naples and Sicily from 1734 to 1759 before becoming Charles III of Spain. He commissioned the theater as part of his effort to strengthen Naples’s royal prestige.
Italian-style auditorium: An Italian-style auditorium arranges a horseshoe-shaped plan of boxes around a central parterre. San Carlo’s tiered boxes and horseshoe plan exemplify this theater form.
Domenico Sarro: Domenico Sarro was an Italian composer of opera and sacred music in the early eighteenth century. His opera opened San Carlo in 1737.
Teatro di San Carlo Orchestra: The Teatro di San Carlo Orchestra is the resident orchestra of Naples’s Teatro di San Carlo. It performs the theater’s operas and concert programs.
Neapolitan school of opera: The Neapolitan school of opera was an influential tradition of Italian opera centered in Naples during the eighteenth century. San Carlo became a leading venue for the composers and performers associated with this tradition.
Giovanni Antonio Medrano: Giovanni Antonio Medrano was a Spanish military engineer and architect active in eighteenth-century Naples. He designed the theater commissioned by Charles VII.
Royal box: A royal box is a prominent theater seating area reserved for a monarch or ruling household. San Carlo’s royal box marked the Bourbon court’s presence in the auditorium.
Nicola Porpora: Nicola Porpora was an Italian composer and singing teacher associated with the Neapolitan school of opera. His works and teaching connected the theater to Naples’s influential vocal tradition.
Teatro di San Carlo Ballet: The Teatro di San Carlo Ballet is the resident ballet company of Naples’s opera house. Its productions make dance a continuing part of the theater’s program.
Opera seria: Opera seria is a serious Italian operatic genre prominent in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The theater’s early repertory helped sustain this courtly genre in Naples.

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Salvatore CammaranoRelated: Cammarano served as its house poet, writing and adapting works for its stage.