... was the Teatro di San Cassiano – San Cassiano being the district of Venice in which it was situated. It was owned by the family of Nicolò Tron, who had served as the Doge of Venice from 1471 to 1473, but was considered 'public' as it was directed by an impresario, or general manager, for the paying public rather than for nobles exclusively.
The San Cassiano Teatro had originally opened in 1581 for the performance of plays. It was destroyed by fire in 1629, after which it was rebuilt by the Tron family. By the late 17th century, Venice had become the opera capital of the world and another ten opera houses had opened. By this time no fewer than 37 operas had premiered at the Teatro San Cassiano. The last performances were held in 1807 and it was demolished in 1812, mainly due to recurring fires.
Venice's most famous opera house, La Fenice ('the Phoenix'), opened in 1792. The building had already been destroyed by fire in 1774, and it was to suffer the same fate on two later occasions - in 1836 and 1996. After the third fire it reopened in 2004.
© Haydn Thompson 2018