Royal Swedish Opera architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz was commissioned by King Gustav III, a strong adherent of the ideal of an enlightened absolutism and as such was a great patron of the arts. The Swedish Opera company had first been located in Bollhuset, but there was a need to separate the Opera from the theatre and give them separate buildings. Construction began in 1775 and the theatre was inaugurated on 30 September 1782 with a performance of the German composer Johann Gottlieb Naumann's "Cora och Alonzo". It was also the place for public masquerade balls, events inspired from the famous opera-balls in Paris,
Villa Verdi European cities, sometimes wintering in Genoa, and part of the winters of 1862 and 1863 in Russia for the premiere of "La forza del destino", most of Verdi's life was lived at the Villa. After Strepponi's death in 1897, Verdi spent less time there. He personally oversaw the management of the estate and ran a profitable farming business. Today, the Villa is owned by descendants of Verdi's little cousin, Maria Filomena Verdi, whom Verdi and his wife brought up as a daughter. This is the Carrara-Verdi family, and they live year-round in parts of the Villa. Visitors are allowed to