When it opened in 1763 much work remained unfinished. The facade in particular which was not completed until 1936.
The theatre's inaugural performance was Gluck's Il trionfo di Clelia, an opera which the composer had written for the occasion.
After a fine dinner on our first night in Bologna we walked to the Opera House for 2 performances of Medea.
The first opera was traditional and loosely followed the plot that we had read on Google.
The second performance was very avante-garde which none of our party enjoyed.
It was a very long 27-hour day. Up at 4:15am for the Dubai to Bologna flight and finally to bed 22 hours later!!!