Teatro Filarmonico di Verona

The Teatro Filarmonico is Verona's historic opera house and the indoor counterpart to the Arena. Designed by Francesco Bibiena, it opened in 1732, was destroyed by fire and wartime bombing, and was rebuilt after each disaster.

Why it matters

The Fondazione Arena di Verona calls the Filarmonico “the other face of the Arena.” The indoor theatre sustains the city's musical life alongside the amphitheatre's summer festival. It opened on 6 January 1732 with La Fida Ninfa, a drama by Veronese poet Scipione Maffei set to music by Antonio Vivaldi. Fire destroyed the building in 1749; Allied bombing ruined it again in 1945. Its repeated reconstruction reflects the city's determination to restore rather than replace its historic buildings.

What to notice

The auditorium preserves the horseshoe arrangement of stacked boxes associated with Bibiena's theatrical design. After the 1945 bombing, a competition for reconstruction was held; in 1956 the city selected the design of Veronese architect Vittorio Filippini, judged to preserve the theatre's “bibienesque spirit” while accommodating modern stage requirements. The result combines the historic auditorium form with a mid-twentieth-century structure.

Context and history

The theatre originated with the Accademia Filarmonica, which commissioned Francesco Bibiena's design. The 1732 opening paired Maffei's drama with Vivaldi's music. After the fire of 20–21 January 1749, Giannantonio Paglia rebuilt the theatre; it reopened during the 1754 Carnival season with Metastasio's Lucio Vero. Allied bombing on 23 February 1945 left it in ruins. A national design competition followed in 1947; Filippini's project began in 1961. The theatre returned to opera in 1975 with Salieri's Falstaff, ossia Le tre burle. The Fondazione Arena now operates it as Verona's year-round counterpart to the summer amphitheatre.