Teatro La Fenice

La Fenice Opera House was built in 1792. In the 19th century, the theatre staged the world premieres of numerous operas, Rossini’s Tancredi, Sigismondo and Semiramide, Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Beatrice di Tenda, Donizetti’s Belisario, Pia de’ Tolomei, and Maria de Rudenz and Verdi’s Ernani, Attila, Rigoletto, La traviata and Simon Boccanegra.

In the last century, the Fenice has also placed a special emphasis on contemporary productions, welcoming the world premieres of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, Prokofiev’s L’angelo di fuoco, Nono’s Intolleranza and Maderna’s Hyperion. Recent premieres have included Kagel’s Entführung im Konzertsaal, Guarnieri’s Medea, Mosca’s Signor Goldoni and Ambrosini’s Il killer di parole.

With a seating capacity for over one thousand people, La Fenice boasts excellent acoustics, a 98-member orchestra and 66-person opera chorus.

The theatre is owned by the Municipality of Venice and managed by the Fondazione Teatro La Fenice, a private body whose members include the State of Italy, the Veneto region, the Municipality of Venice and numerous public and private institutions. The foundation also runs a second theatre, the Teatro Malibran (Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo), which dates back to 1678.

In keeping with the theatre’s storied history, La Fenice is proud to stage the most important works of the Italian and international operatic repertoire, including pieces by French, Slavic, British and German composers. (Venice has enjoyed a long-standing, deep-rooted relationship with both Britten and Wagner).