Lonigo Theater

open to all

The Birth of the Municipal Theater

A democratic theater, open to all, municipal. The idea of providing Lonigo with a new space to host opera, musical, and theatrical performances for the citizens was born on these foundations. We are at the end of the nineteenth century, during one of the most prosperous periods for the city of the Rocca. Having resolved several urban and social emergencies, the enlightened administrators of the time decided to invest in entertainment and culture.

From this perspective, the people of Lonigo had already distinguished themselves over the previous hundred years by building and maintaining an active small theater in Via San Francesco, called “Dei Concordi.” From 1794 and for almost a century, that was the meeting place for the ranks of Lonigo’s nobility and the wealthy bourgeoisie that was consolidating itself on the wave of economic success.

However, it was a small theater that, in the eyes of the dynamic protagonists of the nineteenth-century renaissance, soon proved inadequate in relation to the expectations and decorum of the city.

Thus, with the civic impetus that characterized those years, the Lonigo community decided to build a new theater, larger, more beautiful, and—above all—”popular.” In this last adjective lies the desire to open the doors of culture to all, to make access to that bread of the spirit to which the collective consciousness aspired common.

The Lonigo public administration officially addressed the question of the new theater at the council meeting of July 18, 1890. In March of the following year, after Engineer Giovanni Carraro, commissioned to design the new building, had presented his work, the Municipal Council unanimously approved the “Construction of the theater and approval of the related project.” Those were very dynamic times, marked by a concrete desire to act. Construction work began as early as July 1891, contracted to the firm Ottavio Toffanin and Brothers of Lonigo. Despite inevitable ups and downs—in October, due to heavy rains, the north facade completely collapsed and was rebuilt at an additional cost of 2,750 lire—the work proceeded at a brisk pace, so much so that in August 1892 the Arena di Verona wrote:

“We are almost at the end of the construction of this new Theater: we hope it will be completely established by mid-September. It is a beautiful building that does honor to the town. One must see it finished to judge. There is already talk of the inaugural performance to be given next October.”

And on the first of October, the same correspondent punctually reported:

“It is a stupendous theater, of a new construction very suitable for the use of the building. And for this credit must be given to Engineer Carraro, who demonstrated such dedication and diligence in its execution. The well-known Venetian artist Mr. G. Dolcetta has completed the stage equipment, all excellently. The wings and scenery are superbly executed. Beautiful too is the curtain, the work of the same artist, which depicts an atrium with two side doors for the artists’ exit, in faux stucco with a gold background, and in the middle reveals a perspective background where one can see the stupendous view of Villa Giovanelli, a tower, an ancient remnant of the Scaligeri Castle, and a part of our Cathedral. The proscenium also presents well, with truly delicate painting. The ceiling also leaves nothing to be desired; the design leaves a certain figure where the artist Mr. Dolcetta created the center of the ceiling, very well executed, representing the Coronation of Music, and around it is decorated by our fellow citizen Chiampan with chiaroscuro friezes of very good effect.”

Other local artisans participated in furnishing the theater: carpenter Carlo Rodolfo built “an ingenious device to automatically open the doors” and the “skilled carver” Giuseppe Regagioli created the fine wooden sculptures that still adorn the Theater hall.

October 1892

The Inauguration

And here we are on October 23, 1892, the date of the Municipal Theater’s opening to the public. On stage, Un Ballo in Maschera, an opera by Giuseppe Verdi, whose bronze bust still watches over the theater foyer.

Remo Schiavo writes in his fine book The Municipal Theater of Lonigo:

“On the evening of October 23, with a very large audience, the new Municipal Theater of Lonigo opened, whose elegance and especially comfort were unanimously approved. As in all inaugurations, the audience was very well disposed to applaud and indeed the performance was applauded despite many uncertainties and several shortcomings due to the excessive haste to go on stage. At the second performance many uncertainties disappeared and the impresario decided to replace the contralto and bass who had not proven equal to their parts. The most valid and deserved applause was directed at Mrs. Giulia Haras and tenor Carlo Noli, the principal architects of the opera’s success. Maestro Ubaldo Zanetti conducted.”

Egidio Mazzadi adds: “six more performances followed and then for seven evenings La Favorita by Donizetti. The box office receipts were 7,995.40 lire and the grant provided by the Municipality was 5,000 lire.”

Having cut the symbolic ribbon of the debut, the Municipal Theater continued its course for almost a century. On the Lonigo stage, the operatic and dramatic art of the entire twentieth century was performed and the most important rituals of the city’s history were celebrated.

Starting from the postwar period, adapting to the spreading fashion, the Municipal Theater was transformed into a cinema and for many years alternated its activity as a projection hall with that of a venue for live performances.

In the second half of the 1970s, the need arose to intervene drastically to save the theater from a dangerous decline. On May 4, 1977, the recital Milva Sings Brecht closed the first artistic cycle of the Municipal Theater. After a few years, scaffolding went up and bulldozers arrived.

October 1993

The Restoration

The restoration lasted more than a decade and severely tested, along with the resistance of the municipal coffers, the faith of those who still believed that the Municipal Theater could be reborn. In the end, after a series of structural consolidation works, strictly conservative restoration and cleaning, to which was added the construction of a new building to house dressing rooms and emergency exits, the theater was ready.

On the evening of October 22, 1993, 101 years after the first opening, the stalls and boxes of the Municipal Theater filled again with people, dazzled by the splendor of the new theater. The inaugural concert featured baritone Renato Bruson on stage, accompanied by the Emilia Romagna Symphony Orchestra in a memorable concert both for the exceptional nature of the event and for the mastery of the artists.

Since then, the Municipal Theater has had a new life, less focused on opera due to the increasingly high costs required by this type of performance, but equally of the highest quality with the presence of prominent artists in the fields of theater, dance, and music. An activity that continues and constitutes a source of pride and honor for the city.