Teatro Regio Ducale
The Teatro Regio Ducale (often referred to as the Regio Ducal Teatro ) was a theater located in Milan from 1717 to 1776 .
history
The first Teatro Regio Ducale was built in 1598 to celebrate the transit of Margaret of Austria through Milan, who was the promise made by the King of Portugal and Spain, Philip III . It went up in flames in 1699 but was not completely destroyed and underwent some changes and renovations until it was finally destroyed by another fire in 1708.
The second Teatro Regio Ducale was only built in 1717 from the ruins of the previous Teatro Ducale. It was recreated - with some developments - based on the first draft of the Teatro Ducale, which was already in place in 1598. The royal-ducal theater was inaugurated on December 26th, 1717 with the performance of the play Costantino by Francesco Gasparini . On February 25, 1776, the Teatro Regio Ducale went up in flames for the third and last time.
architecture
The first Teatro Regio Ducale, which was located inside the Palazzo Reale, was divided into three naves and twelve large marble columns were erected on each of the two sides of the theater.
Work on the second Teatro Regio Ducale began on April 26, 1717. By September of the same year, an area 90 cubits long, 46 cubits wide and 30 cubits high was built up, which made up the main part of the theater. 14 architraves supported the roof. Then the front stage was built, which was supported on each side by a large column. The front and back of a medal were depicted on the middle bar. The obverse showed the bust of Charles VI , the reverse the image of a phoenix rising from a heap of ash.
The finished U-shaped interior comprised 800 seats by 5 boxes and the considerable difference in height between the auditorium and the stage was bridged by a large staircase.
The architect of the Teatro Regio Ducale was Giandomenico Barbieri from Parma. He had the theater built mainly out of wood, which ultimately became its undoing.
Performances and personalities
Between the ages of 14 and 16, Mozart wrote three operas for the ducal theater; Mitridate re di Ponto , Ascanio in Alba and Lucio Silla . The second opera, “Ascanio in Alba”, was performed to celebrate the wedding between Archduke Ferdinand and Maria Beatrice d'Este in October 1771. The various performances and celebrations in honor of the couple in the Teatro Regio Ducale lasted no less than two weeks.
Other well-known composers also performed their pieces in the Teatro Regio Ducale, such as Francesco Gasparini , Nicola Porpora , Tomaso Albinoni and many more.
literature
- Latuada, Serviliano, Descrizione di Milano: ornata con molti disegni in rame delle fabbriche più cospicue, che si trovano in questa metropoli . In Milan: nella Regio-Ducal Corte ; a spese di Giuseppe Cairoli, MDCCXXXVII-MDCCXXXVIII [1737-1738]. ETH Library Zurich.
- Giuseppe Barigazzi, La Scala Racconta. Edizione riveduta e ampliata a cura di Sivlia Barigazzi e Franco Pulcini , Milano 2010.
- Giuseppe Ferrari e Mario Ruffini, Signore Amadeo Wolfgango Mozarte. Da Verona con Mozart: Personaggi, luoghi, accadimenti , Venezia 2007.
- John A. Rice, Composers on the Stage. mozart on the Stage, New York 2009.