Teatro La Fenice ("The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. Inaugurated in 1792, La Fenice distinguished itself as one of the major Italian and European theatres, writing opera history with the debuts of numerous masterpieces.

La Fenice is the most important opera house in Italy after La Scala, Milan.

La Fenice is one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world and the place where Verdi's Rigoletto and La Traviata had their first performances. The building was gutted by a fire in January, 1996 and is currently being rebuilt. The theater is scheduled to reopen in late 2003.

Brief Introduction

The Birth of La Fenice

In 1774, the San Benedetto Theater, which had been Venice's leading opera house for more than forty years, was burned to the ground. No sooner had it been rebuilt than a legal dispute broke out between the company managing it and the owners, the Venier family. The issue was decided in favor of the Veniers, with the result that the theater company decided to build a new opera house of its own on the Campo San Fantin. From the twenty-nine architectural plans which were submitted, the one by Gian Antonio Selva was chosen. The building works began in June 1790; by May 1792 the auditorium was completed. It was named " La Fenice" (The Phoenix), in an allusion to the company's survival, first of the fire, then of expulsion from its former base. La Fenice was inaugurated on May 16, 1792 with an opera by Giovanni Paisiello entitled "I Giochi di Agrigento" ( Distractions of Agrigento). The libretto was written by Alessandro Pepoli.

The Fame of La Fenice

From the beginning of the 19th century, La Fenice acquired a European reputation. Rossini mounted two major productions in the theater and Bellini had two operas premiered there. Donizetti, fresh from his triumphs in Milan and Naples, returned to Venice--and La Fenice--in 1836, after an absence of seventeen years. Thus the three greatest Italian composers of the period each affirmed the theater's preeminence, but in December 1836 it was tragically burned down yet again. The following year Giambattista and Tommaso Meduna were commissioned to design a new theater, with decor by Tranquillo Orsi. La Fenice rose once again from its ashes on the evening of December 26, 1837.

Verdi at La Fenice

Verdi's association with La Fenice began in 1844, with a performance of "Hernani" during the Carnival season. Over the next thirteen years, the world premieres of "Attila", "Rigoletto", "La Traviata" and "Simon Boccanegra" all took place there.

La Fenice in the 20th Century

After a period of closure during the First World War, La Fenice again became the scene of intense activity, attracting the world's greatest singers and conductors. In 1930, the Biennale initiated the First International Festival of Contemporary Music, which brought composers like Stravinsky and Britten, and more recently Berio, Nono and Bussotti, to write for La Fenice. Latterly, as part of the theater's bicentenary celebrations, La Fenice has put on a series of revivals of some of its greatest triumphs.

Remarks: Tickets for Teatro La Fenice (The Phoenix Opera House of Italy) China Tour will be available soon!