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
Lexington Opera House seen invaluable and was only a third-run movie house during that time. Private and public campaigns were established to educate and inform the public regarding the history and tradition of the Opera House's significance to the community. Building inspectors determined that it would be cheaper to renovate the Opera House for $2.5 million than to reconstruct a new building for $7 million. The Opera House was purchased by the city as part of the Lexington Center Corporation and was provided financial assistance from the Opera House Fund, Inc. The fund was developed by local philanthropists William T. Young and George