San Samuele Theater

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Teatro San Samuele by Gabriel Bella (1730–1799)

The Teatro San Samuele was one of seven theaters that operated in Venice during the 18th century . It was built in 1656 by order of the Grimani family (who also built other theaters in Venice, including the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo ) and was originally intended for drama. It was not until the following century that operas (especially opera buffa ) and ballets were performed more frequently .

It was on the Rio del Duca Canal and was accessible from Campo Santo Stefano through an alley and a bridge over the Rio del Duca. It was in constant use until it was destroyed by fire in 1747. In 1748 a new building was built in the same style and with the same opulent furnishings. The family had dramatic operas ( Opera seria ) performed primarily in the Teatro San Benedetto, built in 1755 . However, the theater ran into financial difficulties as part of a general crisis among the Venetian aristocracy and was closed and sold by the Grimani family in 1770. After that it was in operation again until it was closed by a decree by Napoleon in 1807. At the same time, the Teatro San Cassiano , Teatro Sant'Angelo and Teatro San Luca were also closed by decree. It was reopened in 1815 and taken over in 1819 by the theater impresario Giuseppe Camploy (1794–1890). Opera buffa and comedies were performed there. From 1853 it was called Teatro Camploy and when he died Camploy bequeathed it to the city of Verona, where today a theater is named after Camploy. The theater was demolished in 1894 after the city of Venice bought it, which had a school built there (Scuola Elementare "Scarsellini"), which it also presented as a model school at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris.

Carlo Goldoni was director from 1737 to 1741 and many of his pieces - including La vedova scaltra 1748 - were premiered here. The famous harlequin Antonio Sacchi , who played in the theater, also played a role. Giacomo Casanova played the violin in the orchestra, his mother Giovanna Maria Farussi appeared in the theater, Faustina Bordoni and, in the 19th century, Marietta Alboni , among others, and pieces by Antonio Vivaldi , Francesco Cavalli and Johann Adolf Hasse were premiered.

In 1824 Nicolò Paganini got to know the singer Antonia Bianchi and entered into a relationship with her that resulted in their son Achille Ciro Alessandro, born in Palermo in 1825.

World premieres (selection)

See also

Web links

Commons : Teatro San Samuele  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 45 ° 25 ′ 58.4 ″  N , 12 ° 19 ′ 44 ″  E