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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <h3>Greco-Roman antiquity</h3> <p>Based on <a href="/facts/Aristoxenus/BBcQrubX">Aristoxenus</a>'s musical system,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> and paying homage to the architects of <a href="/facts/Theatre_of_ancient_Greece/g79S9GHG">ancient Greek theater</a>, <a href="/facts/Vitruvius/IVnqcSzv">Vitruvius</a> described, in the 1st century BC, in his treatise <i><a href="/facts/De_architectura/DdIn29T5">De architectura</a></i>, the ideal acoustics of theaters. He explained the use of brazen vases that <a href="/facts/Lucius_Mummius_Achaicus/kIrMhXzx">Mummius</a> had brought to Rome after having had the theater of <a href="/facts/Corinth/GtvbldxS">Corinth</a> demolished, and as they were probably used in the <a href="/facts/Theater_of_Pompey/a9BRXYnU">Theater of Pompey</a>. As wooden theaters were naturally sonorous, these vases, placed between the seats on the stands, served as resonators in the stone buildings: "By means of this arrangement, the voice, which will come from the stage as from a center, will extend in circles, will strike in the cavities of the vases, and will be made stronger and clearer, according to the relationship of consonance that it will have with one of these vases."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> The <a href="/facts/Odeon_of_Pericles/8zJfztI8">odeon</a> built by <a href="/facts/Pericles/3htznDIx">Pericles</a> near the <a href="/facts/Theater_of_Dionysus/eymqQ3u4">Theater of Dionysus</a> in <a href="/facts/Athens/mBxlp8X1">Athens</a> was, according to the <i><a href="/facts/Suda/rzy4gN1k">Suda</a></i>, intended for the rehearsal of music that was to be sung in the grand theater or, according to <a href="/facts/Plutarch/p3bywktN">Plutarch</a>, for the jury to audition musicians competing for a prize.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>Ancient theaters provided the ideal conditions, but it was not yet time for opera: the aim was to worship the deities, not to venerate the <a href="/facts/Muses/bAWcDPFw">muses</a>. The subject was religious, it was accompanied by singing and instrumental music. Worship was public, and the audience was made up of citizens as well as other categories of the population. Four centuries later, the <a href="/facts/Christian_Church/mXj3F6ED">Church</a> abandoned spectacles as practiced in Antiquity. Histrions, representative of <a href="/facts/Greco-Roman_civilization/17Wzn8n0">Greco-Roman civilization</a>, gradually disappeared. </p> <h3>Middle Ages</h3> <p>The <a href="/facts/Middle_Ages/RqzEKB9v">Middle Ages</a> saw the abandonment of ancient theaters, which were transformed into gigantic stone <a href="/facts/Quarry/s6fhrNhe">quarries</a>, like many other ancient buildings, both public or private. Music still had its place in worship. It continued to bring audiences together, but its content was completely renewed. The <i><a href="/facts/Play_of_Daniel/rv9FLKc3">Jeu de Daniel</a></i> ("Play of Daniel") was a sung play, characteristic of the medieval <a href="/facts/Renaissance_of_the_12th_century/aGnEkJnf">Renaissance of the 12th century</a>. The subject, taken from the <a href="/facts/Bible/SqkRTKCh">biblical</a> <a href="/facts/Book_of_Daniel/m22qUIWF">Book of Daniel</a>, deals with <a href="/facts/Babylonian_captivity/skWuJsdJ">Israel's captivity in Babylon</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> The play was written and performed by students of the Episcopal School of <a href="/facts/Beauvais/Cwete6PQ">Beauvais</a>, located in northern France.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> In the 15th century, sung theater of a religious nature found a special place in the <a href="/facts/Mystery_play/m3pBXxr1">mystery plays</a> performed on cathedral squares. As before, they dealt with sacred subjects, but they were not about worship per se. <a href="/facts/Secularism/QEGcV0XI">Secular</a> musical theater also existed, but had a more popular and intimate aspect (see, for example, <a href="/facts/Adam_de_la_Halle/W2sb7pXd">Adam de la Halle</a>'s <i><a href="/facts/Jeu_de_Robin_et_Marion/jqBvE7DS">Jeu de Robin et Marion</a></i> ("Play of Robin and Marion"), in the 13th century).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h3>Modern period</h3> <p>At the beginning of the 17th century, in Italy, singing underwent yet another renewal, with the emergence of <a href="/facts/Baroque/9hAsnf9X">Baroque</a> art at the height of the <a href="/facts/Renaissance/4D9Bc6KU">Renaissance</a>. Italy continues to have many working opera houses,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> such as the <a href="/facts/Teatro_Massimo/mzD5kM5V">Teatro Massimo</a> in <a href="/facts/Palermo/gCwkjXFg">Palermo</a> (the biggest in the country), the <a href="/facts/Teatro_di_San_Carlo/fQAVskt4">Teatro di San Carlo</a> in <a href="/facts/Naples/SXrFcg2C">Naples</a> and the <a href="/facts/Teatro_alla_Scala/fLGkhRSY">Teatro alla Scala</a> in <a href="/facts/Milan/0xrtbPdt">Milan</a>. The <a href="/facts/Teatro_San_Cassiano/GKGb8RDo">Teatro San Cassiano</a> in <a href="/facts/Venice/Xzc2uVDg">Venice</a> was the world's first public opera house, inaugurated as such in 1637.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>In the 17th and 18th centuries, opera houses were often financed by rulers, nobles, and wealthy people who used <a href="/facts/Patronage/7PwxjCXt">patronage</a> of the arts to endorse their political ambition and social position. There was no opera house in London when <a href="/facts/Henry_Purcell/ANMB8hDN">Henry Purcell</a> was composing and the first opera house in Germany, the <a href="/facts/Oper_am_G%25C3%25A4nsemarkt/dznrFzqr">Oper am Gänsemarkt</a>, was built in <a href="/facts/Hamburg/kmAAsYtT">Hamburg</a> in 1678, followed by the <a href="/facts/Oper_am_Br%25C3%25BChl/hlx0Q86U">Oper am Brühl</a> in <a href="/facts/Leipzig/KIqgMgLN">Leipzig</a> in 1693, and the <a href="/facts/Opernhaus_vorm_Salztor/aUJc1dlJ">Opernhaus vorm Salztor</a> in <a href="/facts/Naumburg/6kPqsoV9">Naumburg</a> in 1701. With the rise of <a href="/facts/Bourgeois/Ho3RUrlA">bourgeois</a> and <a href="/facts/Capitalism/FbPc6TTw">capitalist</a> social forms in the 19th century, European culture moved away from its patronage system to a publicly supported system. </p><p>Early United States opera houses served a variety of functions in towns and cities, hosting community dances, fairs, plays, and <a href="/facts/Vaudeville/b8AD7Rg0">vaudeville</a> shows as well as operas and other musical events. In the 2000s, most opera and theatre companies are supported by funds from a combination of government and institutional <a href="/facts/Grant_(money)/hELaeSPU">grants</a>, ticket sales, and private donations. </p> <h2 id="other-uses-of-the-term">Other uses of the term</h2> <p>In the 19th-century United States, many theaters were given the name "opera house", even ones where opera was seldom if ever performed. Opera was viewed as a more respectable art form than <a href="/facts/Theater/Tq0mvBI8">theater</a>; calling a local theater an "opera house" therefore served to elevate it and overcome objections from those who found the theater morally objectionable.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="gallery">Gallery</h2> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_opera_houses/duHFKddS">List of opera houses</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_opera_festivals/dk9wzLLg">List of opera festivals</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_concert_halls/TJ2ryfPq">List of concert halls</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_buildings/778Pv2pW">List of buildings</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Small-town_opera_house/FWAhxxPT">Small-town opera house</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Architectural_acoustics/13rruRvM">Architectural acoustics</a></li></ul> <p>Notes </p> <p>Sources </p> <ul><li>Allison, John (ed.), <i>Great Opera Houses of the World</i>, supplement to <i>Opera</i> Magazine, London 2003</li> <li>Beauvert, Thierry, <i>Opera Houses of the World</i>, The Vendome Press, New York, 1995. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-86565-978-8</li> <li>Beranek, Leo. <i>Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Music, Acoustics, and Architecture</i>, New York: Springer, 2004. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-387-95524-0</li> <li>Hughes, Spike. <i>Great Opera Houses; A Traveller's Guide to Their History and Traditions</i>, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1956.</li> <li>Kaldor, Andras. <i>Great Opera Houses (Masterpieces of Architecture)</i> Antique Collectors Club, 2002. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1-85149-363-8</li> <li>Lynn, Karyl Charna, <i>Opera: the Guide to Western Europe's Great Houses</i>, Santa Fe, New Mexico: John Muir Publications, 1991. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-945465-81-5</li> <li>Lynn, Karyl Charna, <i>Italian Opera Houses and Festivals</i>, Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2005. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-8108-5359-0</li> <li>Plantamura, Carol, <i>The Opera Lover's Guide to Europe</i>, Citadel Press, 1996, <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-8065-1842-1</li> <li>Sicca, Luigi Maria, "The management of opera houses: The Italian experience of the Enti Autonomi", Taylor & Francis, <i>International Journal of Cultural Policy</i>, 1997, <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/search?fq=x0:jrnl&q=n2:1028-6632">1028-6632</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Opera houses. <ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120311000719/http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/classic/A582068">"The Layout of a Traditional Opera House"</a> on <a href="/facts/H2g2/9tGADPnM">h2g2</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090215002034/https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A567362">"Great Opera Houses of the World"</a> on <a href="/facts/H2g2/9tGADPnM">h2g2</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220527160811/http://historicopera.com/">Vintage postcard images of opera theaters from Historic Opera</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab36">"History of Opera" on HistoryWorld</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Vitruvius, De architectura, Book V Chapter IV, Harmonic music according to the doctrine of Aritoxene, p. 223 <a href="/wiki/Vitruvius" target="_blank">/wiki/Vitruvius</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Vitruvius, De architectura, Book V Chapter IV, Harmonic music according to the doctrine of Aritoxene, p. 243 <a href="/wiki/Vitruvius" target="_blank">/wiki/Vitruvius</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Vitruvius, De architectura, Book V Chapter IV, Harmonic music according to the doctrine of Aritoxene, p. 286 <a href="/wiki/Vitruvius" target="_blank">/wiki/Vitruvius</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Eugene, Enrico. "The Play of Daniel: European Music Series". Oklahoma: The University of Oklahoma. Retrieved 2009-11-18. <a href="http://www.ou.edu/earlymusic/daniel.html" target="_blank">http://www.ou.edu/earlymusic/daniel.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"The Play Of Daniel | Encyclopedia.com". <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-PlayofDanielThe.html" target="_blank">http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-PlayofDanielThe.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Hutchinson Encyclopedia (1988), p.10 <a href="/wiki/Hutchinson_Encyclopedia" target="_blank">/wiki/Hutchinson_Encyclopedia</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Dixon, Rebecca; Sinclair, Finn E. (2008). Poetry, Knowledge and Community in Late Medieval France. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-84384-177-7. Retrieved 17 July 2012. <a href="978-1-84384-177-7" target="_blank">978-1-84384-177-7</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Great Opera Houses of the World". BBC. Archived from the original on Feb 15, 2009. Opera was always popular among ordinary people as well as among the rich, so that there was a large audience available. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090215002034/https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A567362" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090215002034/https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A567362</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Mancini, Franco; Povoledo, Elena; Muraro, Maria Teresa (1995). I Teatri del Veneto - Venezia. Vol. Tomo 1. Venice: Corbo e Fiore. pp. 97–149. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Condee, William Faricy (2005). Coal and Culture: Opera Houses in Appalachia. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. p. 6. ISBN 0-8214-1588-3. The term 'opera house' is indeed misleading, and intentionally so; it provides a veneer of social and cultural respectability and avoids the stigma of the title 'theater.' <a href="0-8214-1588-3" target="_blank">0-8214-1588-3</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"The Name Opera House". Dramatic Mirror. March 7, 1885. <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>