The Teatro Manzoni is a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

in the northern Italian city of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, located on the

Via Manzoni Via Manzoni is a busy and fashionable street in the Italian city of Milan which leads from the Piazza della Scala north-west towards Piazza Cavour. Notable buildings include the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, the elegant Grand Hotel et de Milan, which was ...

. Opened in 1870 it was originally called the ''Teatro sociale di Milano'', before being renamed after

Alessandro Manzoni Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (, , ; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873) was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel ''The Betrothed (Manzoni novel), The Betrothed'' (orig. ) (1827), generally ranked among ...

following his death in 1873. It was originally located on the

Piazza San Fedele Piazza San Fedele (''Saint Fedele Square'' in English) is sited in Milan near Palazzo Marino (Milan's Municipal office), the Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery and Piazza della Scala in a pedestrian area in the centre of the city. The square is site ...

. A growing reputation led to celebrated actors such as

Eleonora Duse Eleonora Giulia Amalia Duse ( , ; 3 October 185821 April 1924), often known simply as Duse, was an Italian actress, rated by many as the greatest of her time. She performed in many countries, notably in the plays of Gabriele D'Annunzio and Henr ...

and

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

appearing there. In the twentieth century it remained a key venue until it was destroyed by Allied bombing in August 1943 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The theatre moved to its current location and was rebuilt to designs by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Alziro Bergonzo, opening in 1950. The first manager of the relaunched theatre was the

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

Remigio Paone. In 1978 ownership was acquired by

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

Fininvest Finanziaria d'investimento Fininvest S.p.A., also known as Fininvest, is an Italian holding company controlled by the Berlusconi family and managed by Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi. Structure The Fininvest group is com ...

, with artistic control passing to Luigi Foscale.

Selected performances

* '' Henry IV'' (1922) by

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...

* '' Assunta Spina'' (1927) by

Salvatore Di Giacomo Salvatore Di Giacomo (12 March 1860 – 5 April 1934) was an Italian poet, songwriter, playwright and fascist, one of the signatories to the Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals. Di Giacomo is credited as being one of those responsible for ...

* ''

The Duchess of Padua ''The Duchess of Padua'' is a five-act tragedy by Oscar Wilde, set in Padua and written in blank verse. It was written for the actress Mary Anderson (stage actress), Mary Anderson in early 1883 while Wilde was in Paris. After she turned it down, ...

'' (1942) by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

Evangelista p.xciii

References

Bibliography

* Berghaus, Günter. ''Fascism and Theatre: Comparative Studies on the Aesthetics and Politics of Performance in Europe, 1925-1945''. Berghahn Books, 1996. * Evangelista, Stefano. ''The Reception of Oscar Wilde in Europe''. A&C Black, 2010. * Lane, David. ''Berlusconi's Shadow: Crime, Justice and the Pursuit of Power''. Allen Lane, 2004. Theatres in Milan Theatres completed in 1870 1870 establishments in Italy 19th-century architecture in Italy {{Italy-theat-struct-stub