Teatro Comunale di Ferrara

Facing the Estense Castle, Ferrara's municipal theatre is a late-eighteenth-century opera house known for its elliptical auditorium, concealed cardinal's staircase and painted interiors. Its recent history is closely linked to Claudio Abbado, who helped establish Ferrara Musica.

Why it matters

Cardinal Legate Scipione Borghese commissioned the theatre in 1773 from Cosimo Morelli and Antonio Foschini, choosing a site opposite the Este fortress. Its auditorium combines five tiers of boxes with an elliptical plan; the design also used thin brick walls for their acoustic qualities. Since reopening in 1989, the theatre has been home to Ferrara Musica, founded by the municipality with Abbado. In 2014 it was named in his honour.

What to notice

The elliptical auditorium is surrounded by five tiers of boxes beneath a shallow vault. At street level, a rusticated façade and loggia frame the curved Rotonda Foschini. Inside, the monumental staircase leads to the piano nobile, which includes a concealed stair reserved for the Cardinal Legate.

Francesco Migliari painted the fire curtain in 1833, drawing its subject from Ariosto's Orlando furioso, and decorated the ceiling around 1850 with scenes from the life of Julius Caesar. The Ridotto preserves further nineteenth-century decoration, including work in the small hall dated 1845. The attic Sala degli Argani retains eighteenth-century stage hoists used to raise chandeliers.

Context and history

The design was reconsidered several times after the initial commission. A review committee in 1787 included Giuseppe Piermarini, Giuseppe Valadier and Giovanni Stratico; Morelli and Foschini's scheme was retained. Serafino Barozzi decorated the hall in 1791, and the theatre opened in 1798. Morelli designed the elliptical auditorium and façade, while Foschini was responsible for the staircase and piano nobile.

The Ridotto passed to the Society of the Casino dei Signori Nobili in 1802 and reached its later form in 1845. After restoration begun in 1987, the theatre reopened on 27 April 1989 with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Abbado and pianist Maria João Pires. The Mahler Chamber Orchestra became resident in 1998; from 2022, Orchestra Mozart began a Beethoven cycle with Daniele Gatti. Abbado died in January 2014, and the theatre was dedicated to him that March.