Opera Teatro La Fenice

In 1789, after the San Benedetto theater was destroyed by fire, the Nobile Società di Palchettisti (Association of Box Holders) pitched the idea for a new opera house in Venice. They proposed building a larger and more lavish opera house in another location, between Contrada Santa Maria Zobenigo and Contrada Sant'Angelo. It will be named "La Fenice", referring to the phoenix, the mythical bird that rises from the ashes.

Box holders (who own separate boxes in the finest locations in an Opera house) were established in 1808 at the request of Napoleon. Since then, it has been revised several times, depending on the political regime in power.

A public tender invited Italian and foreign architects to design an Italian theater, with good visibility and acoustics. The requirements include 5 tiers of boxes with at least 35 boxes per tier. Sealed boxes are a typical Italian feature. Other theaters use galleries with open boxes. This creates a private theatrical space where you will feel at home, which was important for the Venetian aristocrats to entertain their relationships.

Italian architect Giannantonio Selva won the bid with his proposal for a neoclassical building with 174 identical boxes across floors in a traditional horseshoe-shaped auditorium. La Fenice was the first to have a grand facade on a box. This suggestion really appealed to the Venetian aristocracy, who wanted to publicly display their social status.

Since opening in 1792, La Fenice theater has doubled from its ashes. In 1836, the theater was destroyed by a fire caused by a poorly functioning fireplace. Only the foyer and Apollo rooms were spared from the fire. Teatro La Fenice was rebuilt a year later by Giambattista and Tommaso Meduna. In 1996, a major fire destroyed the theater almost completely, while it was closed for maintenance. The raging fire was intentionally raised by 2 electricians who did not agree to fines for their late deliveries. The facade of the building is the only part that survived the two fires.

The reconstruction was designed by Aldo Rossi, who died in 1997 before restoration work began. More than 300 artisans have applied old techniques from plastering to woodwork, chandeliers and gold leaf decoration to restore most of the elements as they were originally designed. At the same time, modern techniques such as separate air conditioning under the seats and modern stage equipment were installed. Additional rehearsal areas have also been added and seating capacity has been increased from 840 to 1,126. On 8 May 2004, the restored Teatro La Fenice was inaugurated and the first play, La Traviata de Verdi, was also premiered in this theatre.