Italian opera it reached the republic of Venice. It was here that the first public opera house, the Teatro di San Cassiano, was opened in 1637 by Benedetto Ferrari and Francesco Manelli. Its success moved opera away from aristocratic patronage and into the commercial world. In Venice, musical drama was no longer aimed at an elite of aristocrats and intellectuals and acquired the character of entertainment. Soon many other opera houses had sprung up in the city, performing works for a paying public during the Carnival season. The opera houses employed a very small orchestra to save money. A large part of
Coldren Opera House 1897, it seated 845 on three levels within two floors of the structure. Coldren Opera House The Coldren Opera House is a former theater that operated in Iowa City, Iowa from 1877 until its closure in 1912. The original opening of Englert Theatre with its legitimate stage and orchestra pit, plus a huge retractable screen for motion picture presentations, coupled with a new University of Iowa auditorium in Macbride Hall, which had been opened during 1908, spelled doom for another notable Iowa City institution, the Coldren Opera House (initially called the Grand Opera House) at 105 College Street. Although calling