The Royal Theatre of Turin has an ancient history: it was built under the king Carlo Emanuele III, who ascended the throne in 1730.
The king lived in the Royal Palace, situated in the Heart of the city: Castle Square.

The king entrusted the famous architect Filippo Juvarra with the project of a new construction including the arcades, the Affairs Offices and the Theatre.
On December 26th 1740 the theatre was opened with the performing of the Opera Arsace.

The king was very proud of his theatre: he arranged the shows, chose the singers, determined the prices of the tickets… including the Queen's one!
The Sovreigns could go to the theatre through inner corridors that linked the Castle directly to the Royal Box.

Instead, if they wished, they could go out by coach and stop it inside the Hall of the theatre, called "the coaches hall".

In the inside, the Theatre was enriched with paintings, precious clothes, golden decorations. A candle ceiling lamp illuminated the Theatre all through the night: the Theatre was a point of contact and of chats, as well as a place for performances.

There was silence only to listen to the opera singers. In this kind of theatre the singing is the main part of the Operas performed, according to the Greek tradition.

During the years, the Royal Theatre had good and bad times, and changed its name several times: National Theatre of Arts, Imperial Theatre, and Royal Theatre again in 1814.
When it become property of the City of Turin in 1870, the Theatre kept its name for tradition.

Through a glass walkway you can reach the big Bull's Hall where you can see, on the marble floor, a bull, the symbol of the city.
The hall is also called foyer, and it's the place where people meet, chat with friends and comment on the performances during break.

In the stalls…

The stalls are made up of many parallel rows, and around them there are 37 boxes. All together there are 1750 seats.
The ceiling lamp, made up of 3662 plexiglas pipes reflecting light, switches on little by little with a splendid effect: as if from the ceiling rained a handful of stars!
The two "lords of the hall" are the Orchestra and the Stage, that are situated down, close together, and live together the stories told in the theatre.

The Orchestra lies in a pit which is a bit lower than the stalls and the stage, in order to let the audience watch the scene and the singers. The orchestra is made up of groups of instruments: the strings, the winds and the percussions.

The Stage is where the action takes place: the opera is a kind of performance that puts together singing, music and scene.

And the secret places?

The Theatre also shows you the most secret parts.
Besides the central scene, the stage includes two side scenes and a back one, where electricians, technicians and scene shifters operate the workings of the wonderful "theatre-machine".

From the top of the "scene tower" the changing of the backdrops is controlled. They work and reharse for weeks so that the staging is perfect. The stage manager is responsible for everything that happens on the stage.

Carignano Theatre

Also Savoia - Carignano had a beautiful theatre built, smaller but as much elegant as the Royal Theatre.

It was opened in 1752, and has always been the temple of drama and comedy. The elegant hall, called "bonbonnière", is still today used for drama.

On February 7th 1936 a terrible fire destroyed the theatre and saved only the front. The theatre was rebuilt and opened on April 10th 1973, in spring, as a symbol of rebirth.

Let's go inside!

The front doors are twelve, separated by empty oval windows that allow you to peep who's coming next to you.
Inside there are red pit-stalls arranged around lamps like petals of a flower: this is the entrance hall.

There are escalators, balconies, stairs, lights: everything is open, clear.
The wide and comfortable stairs that turn round lead you to the second floor: there are five floors above and four under.

Michele Coppino School, 2004