Over the centuries, the Teatro Regio has changed names several times: Teatro Nazionale in 1798, Grand Théâtre des Arts in 1801 and Théâtre Impérial in 1804. Commissioned in 1730 by Carlo Emanuele III to the architect Filippo Juvarra, replaced upon his death by Benedetto Alfieri, the Regio was opened in 1740. With its auditorium seating 2,500, the Regio has changed over the years; in 1838 with a series of renovation works entrusted to Pelagio Palagi, and in 1861 with a new restoration, carried out by Angelo Moja, who cancelled Palagi’s alterations, giving the auditorium a “Neo-Baroque” style. In 1936 the theatre was closed following a fire which destroyed the auditorium. It finally reopened in 1973, with a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Sicilian vespers”, directed by Maria Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano. The project for its reconstruction was entrusted to the architect Carlo Mollino and the engineer Marcello Zavelani Rossi. After celebrating the 250th anniversary of its foundation with a grand exhibition in 1990, the Teatro Regio was given a new outer “curtain”, the bronze gate named “Odissea Musicale” (Musical Odyssey), by the famous artist-sculptor Umberto Mastroianni. The Opera Season is joined by symphony-choral concerts and chamber music.
