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
Waterville Opera House and City Hall Waterville Opera House and City Hall The Waterville Opera House and City Hall is a historic civic building at Castonguay Square (Common and Front Streets) in downtown Waterville, Maine. Built at the turn of the 20th century, it is one of a small number of multifunction civic buildings, housing both a live performance venue and municipal facilities, functions it continues to perform today. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The Waterville Opera House and City Hall stands in downtown Waterville, at the northwest corner of Common and Front Streets. Its main facade faces south,