Teatro di San Carlo

Teatro di San Carlo is the oldest continuously running opera house in the world. Based in the historical heart of Naples, it is renowned worldwide for its great musical tradition, expressed through more than 250 performances of opera, ballet and music every year.

Teatro San Carlo Orchestra was born in 1737. For centuries, it has been one of the most prestigious music groups worldwide: in the 19th century, Rossini, Donizetti and Verdi composed some of their masterpieces specifically for this Orchestra. Teatro San Carlo Orchestra is now lead by Music Director Juraj Valčuha, with Zubin Mehta as Honorary Conductor. Two centuries after the creation of the orchestra, the chorus was founded to provide a large vocal ensemble for San Carlo's opera and concerts both in Italy and abroad; Marco Faelli is the current Chorus Master.

Teatro San Carlo Corps de Ballet dates back to San Carlo’s beginnings: its first performance was, in fact, for the house’s opening night on November 4th, 1737. The ballet has hosted the greatest soloists of our time, from Margot Fonteyn to Carla Fracci and Ekaterina Maximova, from Rudolf Nureyev to Vladimir Vassiliev, to whom the choreography of many performances have been entrusted. The contribution of Roland Petit has been significant in recent years, and we fondly remember his masterpieces The Bat and Duke Ellington Ballet. Throughout the years, ballet at San Carlo has been directed by some of the most important dancers of our times, among others Carla Fracci, Luciano Cannito, Elisabetta Terabust, Anna Razzi, and Giuseppe Carbone. Teatro San Carlo Corps de Ballet is now guided by Giuseppe Picone.

Finding the balance between tradition and innovation to increase accessibility is a key issue for Teatro San Carlo. For this reason, we have been investing in international touring, in the work of the Education Department and in the usage of Web 2.0 Marketing Tools, always keeping in mind San Carlo’s extraordinary artistic heritage.