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
Orillia Opera House 1958. Orillia City Council vacated in 1997 and Orillia Opera became the sole tenant in the building. The building's interior consisted of Council chambers, a 905-seat auditorium, city hall offices, library, market stalls and jail. Orillia Opera House Orillia Opera House is an historic building home to a local opera company in the city of Orillia, Ontario, Canada. The Richardsonian Romanesque building was built in 1895, replacing the first permanent town hall built in 1874, to house Orillia City Council and the local jail. The original structure was designed by Toronto architecture firm Gordon & Helliwell and completed in 1895.