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23-517: In 1864 the municipality of Palermo launched an international competition for the construction of a monumental opera house (the Teatro Massimo) and, a year later, an internal competition for the construction of a diurnal multi-purpose theatre (hence the name "Politeama" from the Greek language ). The architectural project was assigned to Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda . The theatre would have to be built on

46-625: A curtain, depicting Aeschylus at the court of ancient Syracuse , and decorations with scenes from the Eleutherian Festivals . Four years later, he worked at the Teatro Comunale  [ it ] in Syracuse, decorating the vault of the dome with Daphne , in a forest populated by Nymphs . From 1897 to 1898, he was one of the artists who created frescoes for the trading hall at the new Naples Stock Exchange building. He also painted

69-405: A religious nature found a special place in the mystery plays performed on cathedral squares. As before, they dealt with sacred subjects, but they were not about worship per se. Secular musical theater also existed, but had a more popular and intimate aspect (see, for example, Adam de la Halle 's Jeu de Robin et Marion ("Play of Robin and Marion"), in the 13th century). At the beginning of

92-414: Is a theater building used for performances of opera . Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage , an orchestra pit , audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institution's administration. While some venues are constructed specifically for operas, other opera houses are part of larger performing arts centers. Indeed, the term opera house

115-457: Is often used as a term of prestige for any large performing arts center. Based on Aristoxenus 's musical system, and paying homage to the architects of ancient Greek theater , Vitruvius described, in the 1st century BC, in his treatise De architectura , the ideal acoustics of theaters. He explained the use of brazen vases that Mummius had brought to Rome after having had the theater of Corinth demolished, and as they were probably used in

138-524: Is the headquarters of the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana since 2001. The building is an important example of Neoclassical architecture . It has a large entrance by way of triumphal arch topped by the bronze quadriga designed by Mario Rutelli . This quadriga depicts the "Triumph of Apollo and Euterpe " flanked by two statues of knights on horseback, representation of the "Olympic Games" , work of Benedetto Civiletti . On both sides of

161-516: The Opernhaus vorm Salztor in Naumburg in 1701. With the rise of bourgeois and capitalist social forms in the 19th century, European culture moved away from its patronage system to a publicly supported system. Early United States opera houses served a variety of functions in towns and cities, hosting community dances, fairs, plays, and vaudeville shows as well as operas and other musical events. In

184-597: The Orientalist genre, most of which were judged very harshly. Some historical scenes were purchased by the province of Naples . In the late seventies, he began to exhibit more widely; in Rome, Milan and Turin , including Rome's International Art Exhibition of 1883, where he presented a portrait of Queen Margherita of Savoy . In 1891, in addition to his paintings, he did work at the Teatro Politeama, Palermo . This included

207-556: The Theater of Dionysus in Athens was, according to the Suda , intended for the rehearsal of music that was to be sung in the grand theater or, according to Plutarch , for the jury to audition musicians competing for a prize. Ancient theaters provided the ideal conditions, but it was not yet time for opera: the aim was to worship the deities, not to venerate the muses . The subject was religious, it

230-488: The Theater of Pompey . As wooden theaters were naturally sonorous, these vases, placed between the seats on the stands, served as resonators in the stone buildings: "By means of this arrangement, the voice, which will come from the stage as from a center, will extend in circles, will strike in the cavities of the vases, and will be made stronger and clearer, according to the relationship of consonance that it will have with one of these vases." The odeon built by Pericles near

253-656: The 17th and 18th centuries, opera houses were often financed by rulers, nobles, and wealthy people who used patronage of the arts to endorse their political ambition and social position. There was no opera house in London when Henry Purcell was composing and the first opera house in Germany, the Oper am Gänsemarkt , was built in Hamburg in 1678, followed by the Oper am Brühl in Leipzig in 1693, and

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276-857: The 17th century, in Italy, singing underwent yet another renewal, with the emergence of Baroque art at the height of the Renaissance . Italy continues to have many working opera houses, such as the Teatro Massimo in Palermo (the biggest in the country), the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan . The Teatro San Cassiano in Venice was the world's first public opera house, inaugurated as such in 1637. In

299-483: The 2000s, most opera and theatre companies are supported by funds from a combination of government and institutional grants , ticket sales, and private donations. In the 19th-century United States, many theaters were given the name "opera house", even ones where opera was seldom if ever performed. Opera was viewed as a more respectable art form than theater ; calling a local theater an "opera house" therefore served to elevate it and overcome objections from those who found

322-475: The border of the monumental structure of Palermo, as an ideal point of reference of the city's expansion. Therefore, unlike the "aristocratic" Teatro Massimo, the Politeama would have to house more popular shows (operetta, festivals, equestrian shows, etc.). Then, it was decided to erect a large opencast amphitheatre at the beginning of Viale della Libertà . In 1865 the contract with the construction company Galland

345-438: The entrance there are commemorative plaques recording the epigraphs dictated by the historian Isidoro La Lumia . At the top there are two bass reliefs depicting the "Fames" draw by the painter Giuseppe Pensabene and another, under the quadriga, depicting little angels, work of Mario Rutelli. Around the entrance a semicircular structure develops with two orders of colonnade. A rich polychrome decoration, both within and outside

368-533: The last interventions were completed in 1891, when Palermo hosted the Esposizione Nazionale . At that time dates back the official opening in the presence of King Umberto I of Italy and of Queen Margherita . On that occasion Francesco Tamagno was the protagonist of Giuseppe Verdi 's Otello . Between 1910 and 2006 the foyer of the theatre was home of the Galleria d'arte moderna di Palermo . The Politeama

391-481: The theater morally objectionable. Notes Sources Gustavo Mancinelli Gustavo Mancinelli (1842 – 12 April 1906) was an Italian painter in several genres; including landscapes, historical scenes, and portraits. Mancinelli was born in Rome , Italy. He was the eldest of seven children born to the painter, Giuseppe Mancinelli , and his wife, Maddalena née Arnoldi. His father began teaching him to paint when he

414-587: The theatre, was made by eminent local painters like Nicolò Giannone , Luigi Di Giovanni , Michele Corteggiani , Giuseppe Enea , Rocco Lentini , Enrico Cavallaro , Carmelo Giarrizzo , Francesco Padovano , Giovanni Nicolini and Gustavo Mancinelli . In the lateral gardens there are the sculptures of a Bacchante (work of Valerio Villareale ), of a Sylph (work of Benedetto De Lisi ) and of David (work of Antonio Ugo ). 38°07′30″N 13°21′24″E  /  38.1250°N 13.3567°E  / 38.1250; 13.3567 Opera house An opera house

437-694: Was accompanied by singing and instrumental music. Worship was public, and the audience was made up of citizens as well as other categories of the population. Four centuries later, the Church abandoned spectacles as practiced in Antiquity. Histrions , representative of Greco-Roman civilization , gradually disappeared. The Middle Ages saw the abandonment of ancient theaters, which were transformed into gigantic stone quarries , like many other ancient buildings, both public or private. Music still had its place in worship. It continued to bring audiences together, but its content

460-510: Was completely renewed. The Jeu de Daniel ("Play of Daniel") was a sung play, characteristic of the medieval Renaissance of the 12th century . The subject, taken from the biblical Book of Daniel , deals with Israel's captivity in Babylon . The play was written and performed by students of the Episcopal School of Beauvais , located in northern France. In the 15th century, sung theater of

483-463: Was dismissed. On 7 June 1874 the theatre was inaugurated with the opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi of Vincenzo Bellini . However, the building wasn't complete yet. During the following years the name of the building was simply "Teatro Municipale Politeama". In 1882 Giuseppe Garibaldi died and the theatre was named after him. Even though the covering had been made in 1877 by the Fonderia Oretea,

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506-452: Was signed, but the construction started only in 1867. A year later the project was modified because it was decided to transform the amphitheatre into a real theatrical house. In the meantime, the work slow down due to problems that have arisen between the municipality and the Galland company. In 1869 the municipality decided to name the building after Gioachino Rossini , but later this intention

529-667: Was still very young. His first showing was at the Bourbon Exhibition of 1855, in Naples, when he was only thirteen years old, and he was awarded a silver medal. In 1859, he was awarded a gold medal for his depiction of a communion in the catacombs . His his first exhibition at the Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts was held in 1864. He would continue to exhibit with them regularly until 1884. During those years, he created several works in

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