A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/San Carlo
SAN CARLO, the largest and most beautiful theatre of Naples, has almost the same proportions as La Scala of Milan, with which it contends for the theatrical primacy in Italy. It was built in 1737 by the architect Carasale, on plans by Medrano, a General of the R. E., and was completed with extraordinary celerity in only nine months. Some alterations and improvements were made in it by Fuga and Niccolini towards the end of the last century. It was completely burnt down in 1816, and rebuilt even more elegantly and quickly than before, in six months, by the said Antonio Niccolini. In 1844 San Carlo underwent a thorough restoration and considerable improvement. It has now 6 tiers of boxes, each tier numbering 32, without reckoning the large and handsome royal box in their centre. The theatre has also attached to it a large ridotto or hall, notorious in former times for the reckless gambling which took place there.
The best days of San Carlo were those in which it was under the management of the great impresario Domenico Barbaja from 1810 to 1839. During that period the greatest singers appeared on its stage, amongst whom we need only name Colbran, Sontag, Grisi, Tamburini, Rubini and Lablache. Of many operas written expressly for San Carlo and first produced there, we may mention, besides those named under Rossini, Bellini's first [App. p.780 "second"] opera, 'Bianca and Fernando,' in 1826; Donizetti's 'Lucia di Lammermoor' in 1835, and his last opera 'Caterina Cornaro,' in 1844; Mercadante's 'L'Apoteosi d'Ercole' in 1819; and Ricci's 'L'Orfanella di Ginevra' in 1829, and 'La Festa di Piedigrotta' in 1852.
The true cause of the decadence of this great theatre is to be found in the inability of the Neapolitan public to pay sufficiently high prices for the services of the great artists of our days. The writer of this notice still remembers with what uproar and protest the rise in the prices of the stalls to 4s. was received by the public of Naples in 1860. Previously to that date the ticket for a stall cost only the ridiculous sum of 2s. Thus, notwithstanding the annual subvention granted by the municipality of Naples to the lessee of San Carlo, he is unable to engage a great star, the theatre not paying sufficiently for him to incur such great expense.
Another of the opera-houses of Naples is the theatre of Il Fondo, built at the royal expense in 1778 by the architect Securo, and restored in 1849. The form is quite round, with 5 tiers of boxes. Il Fondo is sometimes used for opera, and sometimes for drama. Here Mercadante's first work, a cantata, was produced in 1818. Il Teatro Nuovo, built in 1724 by Carasale, the architect of San Carlo, is wholly consecrated to the representation of opera buffa. Destroyed by fire in 1861, it has been lately rebuilt. Another opera house, San Ferdinando, is a standing example of the mistake of building theatres in unsuitable localities, this theatre bringing to ruin every lessee who has taken it, and being left empty, however good the artists performing on its stage. It was built in 1791, and is shut the greater part of the year. Numerous other small houses there are in Naples, where a kind of musical medley is often performed, mostly in the Neapolitan dialect, and where the lower classes nightly crowd. The music of such operettas is generally lively and tuneful, but hardly deserves any other remark.