Cremona is internationally renowned for music making thanks to luthiers like Antonio Stradivari and his family, whose violins have become the most coveted in the world. Along with an International Violinmaking School and a museum dedicated to the craft, the town’s most important musical institution is the local opera house, the Teatro Ponchielli.
The town has been home to a theatre since 1747. Such was Cremona’s importance in the music world in the 18th century that the young composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed there while on a visit with his father in 1770. Sadly, the original theatre is no longer standing because it was destroyed by fire in the 1800s. The theatre was rebuilt and renamed after local composer and musician Amilcare Ponchielli.
In 1989, the Teatro Ponchielli was renovated and restored. Modern stage equipment was added, making for one of the most well-equipped and largest stages in Italy. The columned exterior is Neoclassical in style, constructed to resemble an Ancient Greek temple. Inside, the 1,249-seat horseshoe-shape auditorium is decorated in gold, ivory and red. It houses three box tiers, including a central royal box and proscenium boxes adorned with gilded masks, topped by two galleries. The parapets are decorated with silver papier-mâché medallions of classic poets. The annual opera season runs from October to December.
Where: Teatro Ponchielli, 52 Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 26100 Cremona, Lombardy
Website: http://www.teatroponchielli.it/
