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
Opera in The Domain Opera in The Domain Opera in the Domain presented by Opera Australia is an open-air concert held in the Phillip Precinct of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney. Every January, thousands of Sydneysiders flock to The Domain for a night of free opera. The event itself has been running since 2000 and since 2005 has been sponsored by Mazda Australia, adopting its new name "Mazda Opera in the Domain". Former MP Kevin Rudd described the event as "One of the most popular open-air events in Australia", and former Prime Minister Julia Gillard earlier this year said "Opera in the Domain is