October 26, 1991: a windy, blustery day by all accounts. Not so out-of- the-ordinary for the port city of Bari, Italy. Yet as day turned to night, what started as a typical late October evening turned quickly into a nightmare: Bari’s Petruzzelli Opera House – originally built in 1903 and perhaps the city’s only true iconic image – was burnt to the ground under mysterious circumstances that certainly rang (and smelled) of arson.
It was the end of an era.
For decades, the Petruzzelli was THE place to perform: one of the grandest opera houses in Italy after La Scala in Milan, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and the Teatro Massimoin Palermo. Aside from the works of Italian composers such as Mascagni and Respighi, the Petruzzelli played host to a who’s-who of operatic and non-operatic performers over the years, including such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Rudolf Nureyev, Liza Minnelli, Riccardo Muti and the great Luciano Pavarotti.
The Petruzzelli opened its arms to the great tenors of the world in addition to countless ballet productions throughout the 20th century. It was – without a doubt – the pride and joy of the city of Bari.
But literally in the blink of eye, nearly 90 years of culture and history was torched, leaving only ashes and memories in its wake.
There was never any doubt however that the Petruzzelli would be rebuilt.
Problem was, it took 18 years to cut through all the red tape and planning. Fortunately, almost to the day it was burned down, the Petruzzelli finally reopened its doors in October 2009 and the result is truly a triumph of Italian craftsmanship and something worth boasting about: The semicircular red, white and gold auditorium was painstakingly recreated, as was the handsome foyers, but let it be said that the Petruzzulli is now much safer, more comfortable and better equipped on both sides of the proscenium.
The Petruzzelli can now accommodate 1482 spectators, 450 in the orchestra or “platea” and 1032 in arena seating broken down into 6 sections and the acoustics of the Petruzzelli has been dramatically improved .
The Petruzzelli’s “golden age” can never be replaced but the next century of performance looks to be just as worthwhile as the one that proceeded it. In fact, the new improved Petruzzelli is not limited to just opera or ballet. The theatre’s new agenda has opened its doors to a wide variety of music and dance including rock concerts and readings.
The 2010-2011 season is well underway and garnering the type of reviews and sold out performances that made the theatre so famous in the first place.
