Opera house as wealthy patrons and it continues to have a large number of working opera houses such as Teatro Massimo in Palermo (the biggest in Italy), Teatro di San Carlo in Naples (the world's oldest working opera house) and Teatro La Scala in Milan. In contrast, there was no opera house in London when Henry Purcell was composing and the first opera house in Germany was built in Hamburg in 1678. In the 17th and 18th centuries, opera houses were often financed by rulers, nobles, and wealthy people who used patronage of the arts to endorse their political ambition and social
National Opera House (Ireland) National Opera House (Ireland) The National Opera House, formerly the Wexford Opera House, is a theatre in Wexford, Ireland. It was officially opened on 5 September 2008 in a ceremony with An Taoiseach Brian Cowen, followed by a live broadcast of RTÉ's "The Late Late Show" from the O'Reilly Theatre. It was built on the site of the former Theatre Royal, Wexford, which was demolished to facilitate the development, the need for a new opera house was a result of the success of the Wexford Festival Opera and the provision of a theatre, concert and conference venue in Wexford. The