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
Grand Opera House (Manhattan) modern style. It opened August 4, 1938 with a double bill of "Having a Wonderful Time" and "Sky Giant". It closed for demolition on June 15, 1960, in order to make way for the Penn South housing development, and was gutted by fire June 29. RKO Pictures later constructed a new theater called Chelsea West Cinemas in Penn South just west of the old opera house, now used by the School of Visual Arts as the SVA Theater. Notes Sources Grand Opera House (Manhattan) Pike's Opera House, later renamed the Grand Opera House, was a theater in New York City