Rome's Opera House just went
through a makeover with a more welcoming, contemporary and
European look.
The renovation's objective is for the theater to become more
attractive to the public, setting aside any drab reminiscence of
the past in order to create a closer relationship with the city.
The new gourmet cafeteria will also 'invade' the square in
front of the 19th-century theater conceived by Domenico Costanzi
while the box office will become more modern with giant screens
and a different, more functional system to gain access to the
theater.
A canteen for employees has also been created in the
basement, connected by an elevator.
These are among the novelties which the Rome Opera House
Foundation led by superintendent Carlo Fuortes has planned in
order to make the theater more pleasant both for the public and
its workers.
The ticket office, which cost approximately 100,000 euros,
will be operational as of Friday, when the new season will open
with the opera The Bassarids, considered one of the masterpieces
of Hans Werner Hense and staged by Mario Martone.
The canteen and lift will likely open in March.
The most high-impact renovation work, however, will concern
the cafeteria, which will be inaugurated on December 20 with the
ballet The Nutcracker.
It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The Foundation is also studying with the superintendency
the best solution to use the square in front of the theater in
order to create continuity between the theater's interior and
the exterior, starting next spring.
Roman restaurant Marzapane has won a public competition to
manage the theater's cafeteria and will have to give the
Foundation (which signed a contract for four years, renewable
for an additional four-year period) 120,000 euros a year and 5%
of revenues.
The operation is thus advantageous for the theater, both in
terms of its image and income.
A first taste of the delicacies to be prepared by Alba
Esteve Ruiz, the restaurant's young Spanish chef, will be served
on Friday evening at a gala dinner for a selected few.
Thanks to record sales of 10 million euros last year, over
the past season that just wrapped up - with a productivity
finally in line with foreign standards - Rome's Opera House is
eyeing the future with newfound enthusiasm.
"The Opera theater will be a more hospitable and lively
place all day long: we are opening up to new things and changes
are still ongoing", said Carlo Fuortes, announcing to the press
all the new developments.
"We are doing this for the public because the theater is a
service offered to citizens".
"After working on management and content, after an
agreement with unions to boost productivity, we are now working
on the packaging", he concluded.
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