Teatro San Carlo — Das Älteste Opernhaus der Welt
The Teatro di San Carlo (the 'San Carlo' — the opera house in Naples built 1737 by the Bourbon King Charles III of Naples (subsequently Charles III of Spain), the oldest continuously operating public opera house in Europe and the oldest opera house in the world (predating La Scala in Milan by 41 years and the Venice Fenice by 56 years): the opera house with the extraordinary baroque and neoclassical interior, the 'horseshoe' auditorium with 6 tiers of boxes seating 1,379 spectators, and the history of premieres (including Donizetti's 'Lucia di Lammermoor' (1835)).
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Teatro di San Carlo — Older Than La Scala
Teatro di San Carlo (Piazza Trieste e Trento, 1737, the oldest continuously active opera house in the world — La Scala opened in 1778, 41 years later) was built by Charles III of Bourbon in a remarkable 270 days; the interior (1,386 seats, 6 tiers of boxes, the largest opera house in Italy by seating) was renovated after a fire in 1816 by Antonio Niccolini, who maintained the neoclassical design; the ceiling fresco (1815) depicts Apollo presenting famous poets to Minerva; guided tours (€9, daily) and standing tickets (€35+).
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Neapolitan Bel Canto — Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini's Naples
The Neapolitan opera school (Scuola Napoletana, 1700–1850) dominated European opera before Verdi — Alessandro Scarlatti, Giovanni Pergolesi, and later Rossini (who wrote 9 operas for San Carlo), Donizetti (who wrote 14 Neapolitan operas and died in Bergamo), and Bellini (Norma, La Sonnambula — written in Naples) shaped the bel canto tradition; the conservatories of Naples (Conservatorio San Pietro a Maiella, Piazzetta Sannazaro) trained most of Europe's leading singers 1700–1830; free concerts in the conservatory courtyard.
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Spaccanapoli's Historic Music Shops
Via San Sebastiano (Naples historic centre, 'musicians' street', parallel to Spaccanapoli) is entirely occupied by music instrument shops, music publishers, and repair workshops — the street has supplied the Naples conservatories and theatre orchestras since the 18th century; the luthiers (string instrument makers) here work in the same small workshops as their predecessors; mandolin building (a Neapolitan specialty — the Neapolitan mandolin is a distinct instrument from the Florentine type) is still practiced.
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Neapolitan Song Tradition — O Sole Mio and the 1898 Song Contest
'O Sole Mio' (composed 1898, Eduardo di Capua music, Giovanni Capurro lyrics) was submitted to the Piedigrotta Festival songwriting competition — the annual Piedigrotta Festival (September, running from the 1500s) was the mechanism through which Neapolitan popular songs were published and distributed; 'Funiculi Funiculà' (1880, written to celebrate the funicular railway to Vesuvius), 'Santa Lucia', and 'Torna a Surriento' all emerged from this tradition; the RAI archive has recordings of all the classic songs in their original dialect pronunciations.
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Conservatorio di San Pietro a Maiella — The Living Heritage
The Conservatorio di San Pietro a Maiella (Piazzetta San Pietro a Maiella, founded 1826 as a merger of 4 conservatories founded 1537–1650) is the oldest music conservatory in continuous operation in the world — the museum (Museo del Conservatorio, 3rd floor, by appointment) contains original manuscripts by Donizetti and Scarlatti, historical instruments, and the library of 10,000+ 17th–18th century music manuscripts; free public concerts (Aula Scarlatti, Thursday evenings during academic year).
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Petruzzelli Theatre Bari — Opera in Southern Italy's Second City
The Teatro Petruzzelli (Bari, 2.5 hours from Naples by train) is the largest private opera house in Italy (1903, restored after arson 1991, reopened 2009) — Bari's opera tradition complements Naples as the major opera centre of southern Italy; the Puglia region's cultural and economic competition with Campania means Bari has invested heavily in its cultural institutions; the Petruzzelli's season (September–June) runs parallel to San Carlo with complementary programming.