Teatro Caio Melisso, Opera house in Piazza del Duomo, Spoleto, Italy.
Teatro Caio Melisso stands on Piazza del Duomo on the foundations of the unfinished 14th-century Palazzo della Signoria. The auditorium has a horseshoe curve, three tiers of boxes and a gallery, rebuilt in wood-free form by Giovanni Montiroli between 1877 and 1880. Domenico Bruschi painted the ceiling with Apollo and the nine Muses, alternating with floral lunettes topped by monochrome putti.
The building was founded in 1667 as Teatro di Piazza del Duomo and underwent various reconstructions over the following centuries. It received its current name in 1880 following a renovation directed by Giovanni Montiroli.
The theatre is named after Caio Melisso, a Spoletan writer, friend of Maecenas and trusted librarian of Augustus, whose own works are entirely lost. Its 1879 curtain by Domenico Bruschi depicts the Apotheosis of Caio Melisso, showing the arts and poetry. Since 1958 the theatre has hosted the Festival dei Due Mondi, opened with Verdi's Macbeth.
The auditorium seats 350 people across three tiers of boxes plus a gallery, and architect Giovanni Montiroli adjusted the horseshoe curve of the hall between 1877 and 1880 to improve sightlines. The theatre sits on Piazza del Duomo beside the Casa dell'Opera del Duomo; during the Festival dei Due Mondi it serves as a main opera venue.
The 1879 tempera curtain by Domenico Bruschi depicts the Apotheosis of Caio Melisso, the Spoletan writer and librarian of Augustus after whom the theatre is named. Restored with the original stage sets, it was presented to the public by art historian Philippe Daverio in July 2012 during the Festival dei Due Mondi.
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