Roma

What shows are on this season in Rome?

Roma and the classical music, discover the 2024-2025 Season of concert, opera and dance performances in Roma.

Many venues are presented : Teatro dell'Opera, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Salone Margarita, Chiesa Anglicana All Saints, Chiesa di S. Paolo Entro le Mura, Chiesa Evangelica Valdese ... 

The first public opera house opened in 1697 but the papacy took a strong stand against the opera. No composer of any significance became associated with Rome. When it was declared capital of the kingdom (at the end of the 19th century), the Teatro Argentina became the centre of Rome’s musical life. It was here that Rossini first performed his Barber of Seville (1816) and Verdi, at the Teatro Apollo, four works including Il Trovatore (1853) and Un Ballo in Maschera (1859).

Teatro dell'Opera
In 1877, Domenico Costanzi had the idea of building an opera house to put his name down in Rome’s history. The Teatro Costanzi opened 3 years later. Roman operatic life then developed at a rapid pace. From 1880 to 1926, 46 first performances and 120 Roman premieres took place. The first performances were by Italian composers, among them distinguished triumphs by Mascagni with Cavalleria Rusticana and Puccini with Tosca. In 1884, Parsifal played to a Roman audience whilst Toscanini made his début in Rome with Carmen.
In 1926, the theatre came under the control of the fascist government and a complete modernisation and transformation of the building was undertaken.

The stage which hosted well-known foreign companies opened up to young composers. Respighi, Malipiero, Stravinsky, Richard Strauss and Berg’s Wozzeck were heard here. The open-air seasons at the Terme de Caracalla began in 1937.
In 1946, the institution adopted the name Teatro dell’Opera and its repertoire turned international whilst remaining faithful to contemporary composers: Britten, Honegger, Hindemith, Janácek, Henze… The soprano Renata Tebaldi also made her name here in 1948 as did Maria Callas (Kundry, Parsifal) in 1950. In 1958 the building was remodelled and modernized by the architect Marcello Piacentini. 
The most celebrated productions include Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro in 1964 and Verdi's Don Carlos in 1965, conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini and directed by Luchino Visconti. On 2 January 1958 the Theater scored another first with a staging of Norma starring Maria Callas that was performed in the presence of Giovanni Gronchi, the head of state. 

It remains today one of the greatest opera in Italy, your can book your tickets online for Rome Opera.

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
The National Academy of Santa Cecilia is one of the world’s oldest music institutes. Having started as an association in Rome in 1566, it was formalized by Pope Gregory XIII in 1585 as a “congregation of musicians under the protection of the Holy Virgin and Saints Gregory and Cecilia”, and later became an academy. Admittance was strictly for master composers, organists, singers and instrumentalists having the required qualifications. The institute remains an association, members comprise 70 full academicians (italian) and 30 honorary academicians (non-italian). 
February 2, 1895-date the inauguration of the concert hall in via dei Greci – marked the beginning of regular performances, and these were further boosted with the establishment of the Orchestra and Choir in 1908. The Santa Cecilia Orchestra was the first in Italy exclusively dedicated to the symphonic genre.
Until 1936, concerts were held at the Augusteo (a theatre later demolished by Mussolini) then at Teatro Adriano, Teatro Argentina and, since 1958, at the Auditorium in via della Conciliazione. From 2002 Santa Cecilia’s concerts are held in the New Auditorium Parco della Musica of Renzo Piano. 
The Santa Cecilia Orchestra has held over 15.000 concerts, under the direction of the most distinguished conductors and with the most famous soloists.

Auditorium Parco della Musica 
Designed in 2002 by architect Renzo Piano, this complex dedicated to classical music consists of three concert halls, an open-air theatre, two rehearsal rooms, a museum of musical instruments and an exhibition of archaeological remains.

And many concerts in beautiful churchs:  Chiesa Anglicana All Saints ,  Chiesa di S. Paolo Entro le Mura,  Chiesa Evangelica Valdese ...