Teatro San Cassiano in Opera History

Abstract

The study is devoted to the first publicly accessible opera house Teatro San Cassiano (Venice, 1637), the establishment of which became a cardinal factor in the transformation of opera from aristocratic court entertainment to creative industry. The author considers the issues related to the history of the theater’s construction and the actions of its owners, the Venetian nobles, the Tron brothers, aimed at turning opera into a profitable business. The article reveals possible prototypes and reasons for the constructive solutions in the theater, in particular the boxes and the U-shaped audience hall. The author gives the parametric characteristics of the components of the Teatro San Cassiano building — the stage, the audience hall, and the boxes. It is noted that the tiered Theatro San Cassiano became a prototype for other theatres not only in Venice, but also in other cities of Italy and Europe. Thus, among the Venetian theaters of the 17th century, the public theaters, such as SS Giovanni e Paolo (1638), Novissimo (1640), San Moise (1640), and San Giovanni Crisostomo (1678), were inspired by San Cassiano; outside Venice there were Teatro Falcone (Genoa, 1652) and Teatro Tordinona (Rome, 1671). The article emphasizes market competition that was one of the key factors in the dynamic spread of opera and the formation of opera infrastructure in Europe. After the establishment of San Cassiano, the development of opera acquired a clearly defined vector: from elitist entertainment to creative industry.