Teatro San Carlo

Next to Plebiscito Square, one of the symbols of Naples, stands the shrine to Italian opera, whose foundation precedes  the Scala theatre in Milan  by 41 years and the Fenice theatre in Venice  by  55 years. It was in 1737 that the first king of Bourbon, Charles III became the promoter of a project that combined magnificence with amazement and became a clear sign of his power: a theatre! It was the architect Giovanni Antonio Medrano, the Spanish colonel brigadier stationed in Naples, who was responsible for the design.

The opening evening of November, 4th, the sovereign's name day, was celebrated with the performance of Achilles in Sciro by Pietro Metastasio, with music  by Domenico Sarro and "two dances as an intermezzo" created by Grossatesta and scenes by Pietro Righini. At that time, women used to play the main character of operas, so Achilles was interpreted by Vittoria Tesi, called "La Moretta", with the primadonna soprano  Anna Peruzzi, called «la Parrucchierina» and the tenor Angelo Amorevoli.