Teatro Alessandro Bonci, Opera house in Cesena, Italy
Teatro Alessandro Bonci is an opera house on Piazza Guidazzi in Cesena, built from 1843 to 1846 to a design by Vincenzo Ghinelli. Its facade has a rusticated portico, an Ionic colonnade and seven framed mythological figures, including Hercules, Apollo and the muses; inside are a horseshoe-shaped hall, four tiers of boxes and a gallery, about 800 seats in all.
Construction started in 1843 under architect Vincenzo Ghinelli and the house opened to the public in 1846. Over the following decades, the theater became an important venue for artistic performances in the region.
The theatre's name recalls Cesena-born tenor Alessandro Bonci, who sang here in 1891 to fund his studies in Pesaro, returned for Gounod's Faust in 1904, and in 1927, on his retirement, performed a Requiem when the house was named after him. The foyer lists celebrated performers such as Marietta Alboni, Luciano Pavarotti, Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner.
The theatre stands on Piazza Guidazzi inside Cesena's historic walls, beside the Giardini Pubblici. The auditorium holds about 800 seats across the stalls, four tiers of boxes and the gallery, and the entrance vestibule displays a bust of Alessandro Bonci. Since 2001 it has been one of the main production venues of Emilia Romagna Teatro.
In 1891 the young Bonci gave an academy performance here to fund his singing studies in Pesaro; he returned in 1904 for Gounod's Faust and in 1927, on retiring from the stage, for a Requiem, when the theatre was named after him.
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