The Teatro Giuseppe Verdi is a small 300-seat theatre built by the municipality.
Although Verdi opposed its construction (it would be “too expensive and useless in the future”, he said) and is reputed never to have set foot in it,
he did contribute 10,000 lire towards the construction and maintained his own box.
The Theatre opened in 1868 when 2 Verdi operas were presented - Rigoletto and Un Ballo in Maschera.
Verdi did not attend even though he lived only two miles away at his home, the Villa Verdi, in the village of Sant’Agata.
In 1913, Arturo Toscanini conducted a performance of Falstaff in celebration of the centenary of Verdi’s birth and to raise funds
for what is now a large monument of the seated composer located in the piazza.
In 2001 the theatre re-painted the sets from 1913 for a revival. These were used again in 2013 for a Verdi bi-centenary performance of Falstaff.
Stewart's photo.
