Teatro Regio Torino

The Teatro Regio di Torino (Turin Royal Theatre) is a prominent opera house and opera company in Turin, Italy. Its season runs from October to June with the presentation of eight or nine operas given from five to twelve performances of each. Several buildings provided venues for operatic productions in Turin from the mid-Sixteenth Century, but it was not until 1713 that a proper opera house was considered, and under the architect Filippo Javara planning began. However, the cornerstone was not laid until the reign of Carlo Emanuele III in 1738 after Javara's death. The work was supervised by Benedetto Alfieri until the theatre was completed. The Nuovo Teatro Regio (New Royal Theatre) was inaugurated on 26 December 1740 with Francesco Feo's Arsace. It was a sumptuously built seating 1,500 and with 139 boxes located on five tiers plus a gallery. However, the theatre was closed on royal order in 1792 and it became a warehouse. With the French occupation of Turin during the Napoleonic... full article at wikipedia