Teatro La Fenice (The Phoenix Opera House of Italy) China Tour August 15, 2008

Time: 2008/8/15
Venue: The National Centre for the Performing Arts-Music Hall
Price: --
MSN: [email protected]
Tel: 86-10-64177845

Booking now:
http://www.piao.com.cn/en%5Fpiao/ticket_1662.html

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Teatro La Fenice ("The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. Inaugurated in 1792, La Fenicedistinguished itself as one of the major Italian and European theatres,writing opera history with the debuts of numerous masterpieces.

La Fenice is the most important opera house in Italy after La Scala, Milan.

La Fenice is one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world and the place where Verdi's Rigoletto and La Traviatahad their first performances. The building was gutted by a fire inJanuary, 1996 and is currently being rebuilt. The theater is scheduledto reopen in late 2003.

Brief Introduction

The Birth of La Fenice
In 1774, the San Benedetto Theater, which had been Venice'sleading opera house for more than forty years, was burned to theground. No sooner had it been rebuilt than a legal dispute broke outbetween the company managing it and the owners, the Venier family. Theissue was decided in favor of the Veniers, with the result that thetheater company decided to build a new opera house of its own on theCampo San Fantin. From the twenty-nine architectural plans which weresubmitted, the one by Gian Antonio Selva was chosen. The building worksbegan in June 1790; by May 1792 the auditorium was completed. It wasnamed " La Fenice" (The Phoenix), in an allusion to the company's survival, first of the fire, then of expulsion from its former base. La Fenicewas inaugurated on May 16, 1792 with an opera by Giovanni Paisielloentitled "I Giochi di Agrigento" ( Distractions of Agrigento). Thelibretto was written by Alessandro Pepoli.

The Fame of La Fenice
From the beginning of the 19th century, La Feniceacquired a European reputation. Rossini mounted two major productionsin the theater and Bellini had two operas premiered there. Donizetti,fresh from his triumphs in Milan and Naples, returned to Venice--and La Fenice--in1836, after an absence of seventeen years. Thus the three greatestItalian composers of the period each affirmed the theater'spreeminence, but in December 1836 it was tragically burned down yetagain. The following year Giambattista and Tommaso Meduna werecommissioned to design a new theater, with decor by Tranquillo Orsi. La Fenice rose once again from its ashes on the evening of December 26, 1837.

Verdi at La Fenice
Verdi's association with La Fenicebegan in 1844, with a performance of "Hernani" during the Carnivalseason. Over the next thirteen years, the world premieres of "Attila","Rigoletto", "La Traviata" and "Simon Boccanegra" all took place there.

La Fenice in the 20th Century
After a period of closure during the First World War, La Feniceagain became the scene of intense activity, attracting the world'sgreatest singers and conductors. In 1930, the Biennale initiated theFirst International Festival of Contemporary Music, which broughtcomposers like Stravinsky and Britten, and more recently Berio, Nonoand Bussotti, to write for La Fenice. Latterly, as part of the theater's bicentenary celebrations, La Fenice has put on a series of revivals of some of its greatest triumphs.

Official Website: http://www.piao.com.cn/en%5Fpiao/ticket_1662.html