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From the origins to the 1996 fire
1792-1805
The first La Fenice Theatre
1787
The Noble Society, owners of the San Benedetto Theatre, are ousted by
a legal ruling in favour of the owners of the land on which the theatre
will stand and decide to build a new one in San Fantin.
1st November 1789: the call
for tenders
"The Noble Society of the new theatre to be built in Venice on land
purchased in the quarters of S. Angelo and S. Maria Zobenigo has instructed
its chairmen and assistants to procure drawings and models ..." calling
for "tenders from Italian and foreign architects for a project for
the new theatre ... which is most pleasing to the eyes and ears of the
spectators...". These are the terms of the call for tenders for the
Gran Teatro la Fenice as published on 1st November 1789. Special permission
is needed for the new building project, since a law designed to curb excess
and opulence sets the number of theatres in Venice at seven.
Projects are to be submitted within four months (the deadline
is later extended to six months) and the winning architect is to be awarded
"a gold medal to the value of three hundred gold coins" as well
as receiving a "fitting payment" for overseeing building work.
A total of twenty-eight projects are submitted. Nine competitors
present drawings and wooden models, including the winning architect Giannantonio
Selva, whose wooden model is the only one to survive to this day.
The new theatre is named "La Fenice".
16th May 1792
Giannantonio Selva's new theatre is officially opened.
On the evening of the inauguration, a correspondent from the "Gazzetta
Urbana Veneta" newspaper gives this description of La Fenice "...
it has all the features required for a theatre; light colours, harmony,
solidity and lightness, though difficult to combine, are brought together
wonderfully here...".
The correspondent also comments that "...all 174 boxes which make
up the theatre are perfectly identical...", turning the ideal republican
theatre into an architectural reality.
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