Petruzzelli Theater - Virtual Tour 360°

The Petruzzelli Theater is the largest cultural container in the city of Bari and the fourth largest Italian theater.
Located in the heart of the city, it overlooks Corso Cavour; on its south wall ends via De Giosa, behind the Palazzo dell'Acquedotto Pugliese.

 

History

The history of the Petruzzelli Theater in Bari begins when Onofrio and Antonio Petruzzelli, traders and shipowners of Trieste origin, presented the design of the theater of their brother-in-law, the engineer from Bari Angelo Cicciomessere (later Messeni), at the municipal office of Bari.

The Petruzzellis' proposal was accepted and in 1896 the contract between the family and the municipal administration was signed; the contract is dated January 29, 1896.
Two years later, in October 1898, the works began, which ended in 1903. Inside the theater was frescoed by Raffaele Armenise.
Petruzzelli took Corato from the primacy of the largest theater in Puglia.
The theater was inaugurated on Saturday 14 February 1903 with Meyerbeer's masterpiece, The Huguenots.

Guests

In the eighties the theater hosted two great "premieres": that of Ifigenia in Tauride by Niccolò Piccinni, never performed again after its debut in Paris in 1779, and that of the Neapolitan version of I puritani by Bellini, written for Maria Malibran and never again. represented.

The theater projects the city into the world, making it famous. Alongside opera, musicals, ballets and great concerts are on the scene. Great international artists have trodden the Petruzzelli stage: Herbert von Karajan, Rudolf Nureyev, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, Juliette Greco.

Fire

October 27, 1991. After the replica of the Norma, the curtain had fallen on the Petruzzelli Theater. A few hours later the symbol of Bari also lived its last act just like the final scene of Vincenzo Bellini's masterpiece which, ironically, ends with a stake. A fire completely destroyed the stage. The marvelous tempered glass dome frescoed by Raffaele Armenise collapsed on itself. The stage and stalls had been damaged by the heat. A tragedy for art and a wound that will remain open for a long time in the hearts of the Apulians.

 

Map: Petruzzelli Theater - Virtual Tour 360°