feb 1, 1637 - Teatro San Cassiano

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The Teatro San Cassiano (or Teatro di San Cassiano) in Venice was the first public opera house when it opened in 1637.

When thinking about the significance of this event, we should think not only of the
composers who used it, but also the audience in attendance.
B. The Italian court spectacles necessarily included homage and praise of the princes in
attendance.
1. The virtuosity of performers could have been viewed as a threat, because they upstaged
whatever political event was being celebrated in the first place.
C. When opera moved to a more public venue, the virtuoso performers thrived, an aspect of
opera that has continued to this day.
1. The most virtuoso singers were castrati, opera’s first stars.
D. Women who sang in operas were seen as threats in several ways.
1. Some considered them provocative and therefore immoral.
2. The roles some women sang positioned them to insult, degrade, outwit, and humiliate
men—clearly a role reversal.
E. Opera has always had the potential to be disruptive to traditional values and has been
associated with destabilization throughout its history.

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