 | This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(November 2012) |
The Sferisterio is an open-air stadium or sphaeristerium in Macerata, Italy.
Arena Sferisterio | |
 | |
 | |
| Location | Macerata, Italy |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°17′58″N13°27′22″E / 43.29944°N 13.45611°E |
| Capacity | 3,000 |
| Field size | 36 x 90 m |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1823 |
| Opened | 1829 |
| Architect | Ireneo Aleandri |
| Website | |
| Official Website | |
An ancient Italian national sport or pallone col bracciale was the most popular sport in Italy for almost five centuries. This game dated back to the 15th century. The people of Macerata decided that they needed somewhere large to play and watch it; a place that could also be used for public spectacles such as circuses and even bull fights. One hundred citizens raised the money themselves, and got Ireneo Aleandri to design and build it in 1823. The design involved the destruction and rebuilding of some of the historic city walls next to the Porta Mercato gate.
It took about six years to complete the building.
The strait side of the arena is a wall 18 metres high and 88 metres long, along which is a line of arches separated by 56 columns carrying a double row of boxes, and a stone gallery, all in Neoclassical style.
Over the years the popularity of pallone decreased and that of football replaced it. In 1919 the surface was levelled to allow for this, and also for tennis courts. The arena had been used for the occasional theatrical event from 1871, but from about 1921 opera began to be put on there.
In 1921, as the first presentation of what would become the Sferisterio Opera Festival, Pieralberto Conti staged Verdi's Aida paid for by the soprano, Francisca Solari. This was followed by all parts of the arena, both front- and back-stage, being renovated and electricity introduced.
Today it holds an audience of over 3,000. The stage is 14.5 meters deep and 40 meters wide, with 10 meter wings each side of that. It is rather unusual shape for musical performances (musicians at each end of the pit cannot hear each other) but the acoustics are surprisingly good (at least near the middle).
The present day opera festival, beginning in the late 1980s and under the auspices of the Macerata Opera, takes place in this location.
The Bayreuth Festspielhaus or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, built by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner and dedicated solely to the performance of his stage works. It is the venue for the annual Bayreuth Festival, for which it was specifically conceived and built. Its official name is Richard-Wagner-Festspielhaus.
The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy built in 30 AD. It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. In ancient times, the arena's capacity was nearly 30,000 people. The stage for concerts and opera performances decreases the available places to a maximum of 22,000. It will be used as the Closing ceremony venue for the 2026 Winter Olympics and two weeks later will be used for the Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Macerata is a city and comune in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564.
A theater, theatre or playhouse, is a structure where theatrical works, performing arts and musical concerts are presented. The theater building serves to define the performance and audience spaces. The facility usually is organized to provide support areas for performers, the technical crew and the audience members, as well as the stage where the performance takes place.
Pallone is the name of several traditional ball games, played in all regions of Italy, with few differences in regulations.
Sphaeristerium is a term in Classical architecture given to a large open space connected with the Roman thermae for exercise with balls after the bather had been anointed. They were also provided in Roman villas.
Giotto's Campanile is a free-standing campanile that is part of the complex of buildings that make up Florence Cathedral on the Piazza del Duomo in Florence, Italy.
The music of the Marche, a region of Italy, has been shaped by the fact that the entire region is a collection of small centers of population. There is no cultural giant to be found—no Florence or Naples—that might have shaped the cultural and musical expressions of the entire region. There is not a town in the region with more than 100,000 population, but there are 246 total towns, and they support no fewer than 113 theaters, a cultural building boom that started in the late 18th century. Historically, the entire area was home to a great number of monasteries and abbeys in the Middle Ages, institutions that had choirs and were active in the musical lives of the inhabitants. That period is still obscure and is currently the subject of musicological research. In the modern age, the region has a vibrant musical life.
The Macerata Opera is the name given to the coordinating bodies of the provincial and local government in Macerata, the provincial capital of the Marche region of Italy, which puts on performances of three or four operas each July and August under the name Macerata Opera Festival. From 1992 the Opera Association was founded by the municipality and the Province Association of Macerata to oversee the operations of the Festival. In addition to the main summer activities, the Association organizes many other musical events, ranging from the New Music Festival to the performances of baroque music in a number of historical sites and buildings. The Association also organizes international conferences.
Pier Luigi Pizzi is an Italian opera director, set and costume designer.
Marco Tutino is an Italian composer. His emergence during the late 1970s was as the spearhead of an Italian Neo-Romantico group, founded with two other composers, Lorenzo Ferrero and Carlo Galante. He graduated from the Milan Conservatory, where he had studied flute and composition, in 1982.
Tamburello is a court game invented in the northern provinces of Italy during the 16th century. It is a modification of the ancient game of pallone col bracciale, bearing the same general relation to it as Squash does to Racquets. Tamburello is also similar in form to tennis.
Valencian pilota is a traditional handball sport played in the Valencian Community. Its origins are not known.
L’occasione fa il ladro, ossia Il cambio della valigia is an opera in one act by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Prividali, based on Le prétendu par hasard, ou L’occasion fait le larron, an 1810 vaudeville by Eugène Scribe.
Via de' Tornabuoni, or Via Tornabuoni, is a street at the center of Florence, Italy, that goes from Antinori square to ponte Santa Trinita, across Santa Trinita square, distinguished by the presence of fashion boutiques.
Giampaolo Zennaro is an Italian Opera director and stage designer.
Giancarlo Monsalve Leyton is a Chilean spinto tenor. He is the Cultural Ambassador of his home town Valparaíso, a UNESCO World Heritage site. He is known for his portrayal as Don José in Carmen, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana, the title role in Don Carlos, Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera, Prince Calaf in Turandot and Don Alvaro in La forza del destino
Sant'Agostino is a Gothic-style, Roman Catholic church located on Piazzale Giordani #1 in the town of Recanati, province of Macerata, region of Marche, Italy.
Jolanta Omilian, real name: Jolanta Omiljanowicz-Quattrini, is a Polish opera singer, singing mainly belcanto and dramatic soprano parts.
Palazzina Appiani is a historical building located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built as the entrance hall of the arena at the beginning of the 19th century by the French, who occupied Milan in 1796. Its original function was to be the official gallery and guest residence to host Napoleon's family during his public appearances. It is located in Parco Sempione, the biggest park in the city, which also comprises the Sforza Castle and the Arch of Peace. Adjacent to the Arena Civica, the Palazzina is now entrusted to FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano.
Coordinates: 43°17′57″N13°27′23″E / 43.29917°N 13.45639°E
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
