Spend an evening of exquisite music at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in the Sicilian city of Catania! This majestic opera house is named after the famous locally born composer Vincenzo Bellini. Bellini was greatly loved by the people of Sicily.
His cleverly woven melodies were distinctive in style and were so elegant that it earned him the nickname, The Swan of Catania’.
Choose from a superb range of villas in Sicily where you can spend a few days visiting the many attractions of the island, including Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania.
In 1890, the 1200 seats of this lavish theatre were filled with eager spectators who witnessed the masterpiece of Bellini’s called ‘Norma’ and from then, it has been filled frequently with opera and classical music lovers who come to hear the legacy of Bellini’s music and other great works.
His cleverly woven melodies were distinctive in style and were so elegant that it earned him the nickname, The Swan of Catania’.
Choose from a superb range of villas in Sicily where you can spend a few days visiting the many attractions of the island, including Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania.
In 1890, the 1200 seats of this lavish theatre were filled with eager spectators who witnessed the masterpiece of Bellini’s called ‘Norma’ and from then, it has been filled frequently with opera and classical music lovers who come to hear the legacy of Bellini’s music and other great works.
The idea for the construction of what was to become Teatro Massimo Bellini came about a few years after the deadly Mount Etna earthquake in 1693 that crumbled Catania city. Plans were made to create some iconic buildings in the new city including a grand opera house.
Eventually in 1870 this plan came to fruition when an architect called Carlo Sada was employed to find an ideal location in the city to create his grand idea of what Teatro Massimo would look like. Designed in a typical Sicilian Baroque style on the exterior, the construction of Teatro Massimo Bellini spared no expense!
Eventually in 1870 this plan came to fruition when an architect called Carlo Sada was employed to find an ideal location in the city to create his grand idea of what Teatro Massimo would look like. Designed in a typical Sicilian Baroque style on the exterior, the construction of Teatro Massimo Bellini spared no expense!
Opera goers would enter the large ornate marble foyer called the ‘Ridotto’ before being seated in the concert hall filled with plush red velvet seats arranged on the ground floor and four tiers of arched private balconies.
The colourfully painted ceiling was inspired by scenes from four of Bellini’s most famous operas.
All of his works have been performed to large crowds here over the years with great success. To find out about upcoming events here, check out the Teatro Massimo Bellini website.
Be sure to explore other attractions across Sicily such as the volcanic Mount Etna, the Blue Flag beaches of the Sicilian coast and of course its wonderful UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The colourfully painted ceiling was inspired by scenes from four of Bellini’s most famous operas.
All of his works have been performed to large crowds here over the years with great success. To find out about upcoming events here, check out the Teatro Massimo Bellini website.
Be sure to explore other attractions across Sicily such as the volcanic Mount Etna, the Blue Flag beaches of the Sicilian coast and of course its wonderful UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Photo credits
picture 1: Berthold_Werner / CC BY-SA 3.0;
picture 2: Superbizzu / CC BY-SA 3.0;
picture 3: Superbizzu / CC BY-SA 3.0
picture 1: Berthold_Werner / CC BY-SA 3.0;
picture 2: Superbizzu / CC BY-SA 3.0;
picture 3: Superbizzu / CC BY-SA 3.0
