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Naples & the Amalfi Coast : Performing arts

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  • San Carlo shares with La Scala the record for the first Italian ballet school (1812).

  • An 18th-century Neapolitan speciality, renowned castrati who sang at the San Carlo included Caffarelli (Gaetano Majorano), Farinelli (Carlo Broschi) and Gian Battista Velluti.

  • De Filippo (1900–84) combined the roles of comic actor, manager and playwright. His comedies, originally in the Neapolitan dialect, revolve around the petty concerns of family life and were performed by his family troupe. His best known film is Napoli Milionaria (1950).

  • Arguably the most famous tenor ever, Caruso was born in Naples in 1873. His 1901performance at the San Carlo was so heavily criticized that he never sang in Naples again.

  • In February 1816 fire destroyed the San Carlo. In a few months the theatre had been rebuilt with perfect acoustics.

  • Donizetti composed 16 operas for the San Carlo, including Lucia di Lammermoor .

  • The composer wrote some 50 operas and was artistic director of the opera house between 1815 and 1822.

  • The “god” of Italian opera wrote his first opera for the theatre, Alzira , in 1845.

  • On 4 November 1737 the San Carlo was inaugurated with Metastasio’s opera Achille in Sciro .

  • Embodying the heart of the Neapolitan character, this actor made international waves with Il Postino (The Postman) , nominated for an Academy Award in 1995. Sadly, after the film was completed, Troisi died at the age of 41.

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