The website for the Academy of Music in Philadelphia states that it is the "oldest known opera house still used to house operatic performances." I agree that that is true specifically for the USA. But in the whole world, is there really no opera house built before 1857 that is still used for opera?
Posted Apr 1, 2020, 3:25 PM UTC
It appears to be true for the USA, but it is not hard to find older opera houses in Europe. Teatro Comunale Pergolesi claims to be "one of the few opera houses in Italy from the late 1700s that has never been destroyed by fire or bombs". And the Estates Theatre in Prague opened in 1783 and is where Mozart conducted the premiere of Don Giovanni.
I imagine if I ever make it to the Estates Theater, I will feel pretty damn overwhelmed to be standing where Don Giovanni premiered AND where Mozart stood. The film makers of Amadeus said the same.
Thanks for the info!
Well, a number of the European houses were extensively damaged/destroyed and rebuilt in the 40s... and these sorts of buildings burnt down with some regularity in the 18th and 19th centuries. So if replacements built on the same site count, then there are any number that are much older. Even if not, I think the Theatre an der Wien is older.
Yes, the question of "replacements" is an interesting one.