The history of the Theatre's Orchestra is closely linked to that of the theatre itself (the oldest in Europe). We do not know the names of the musicians that were called to perform Achille in Sciro by Domenico Sarro (the first work to be performed at the San Carlo) on the inaugural evening of November 4th 1737.
We do know, however, that, from that day on, the theatre's music has never ceased, overcome war and fire, and always active either on the stage or in the pit ready to bring us that depth of emotion that only great music can.
For obvious reasons the orchestra has always been characterized by it's strong involvement in opera and in the 19th century it had the honour of premiering works written by Rossini, Bellini, Donezetti and Verdi.
Indeed, Verdi himself, while in Naples for a production of Aida, was inspired to dedicate his only string quartet to the orchestra's section leaders, and the manuscripts can still be found in the Naples Conservatoire.
During the twentieth century, the orchestra became more and more active in symphonic performances. Even as far back as 1884, however, the young Giuseppe Martucci stood upon the podium to conduct the Neapolitan ensemble in a rich programme of music by Weber, Saint-Saëns and Wagner.
Until then, the San Carlo had mainly hosted groups and soloists from elsewhere, often from abroad. Martucci also had a consistent and effective influence on the Theatre's newly-formed Orchestra which he conducted on more than one occasion at the end of the nineteenth century.
It is impossible to count the names of the world's great conductors who have worked with the San Carlo Orchestra: from Toscanini (in 1909) to Victor de Sabata (1928) as well as composers Pizzetti and Mascagni. One unforgettable event was on the 8th of January 1934 when Richard Strauss gave a concert that consisted entirely of his own work.
Other important events that represented the orchestra's spirit were the opening nights of Francesca da Rimini by Riccardo Zandonai on January 15th 1921 and Fedra by Ildebrando Pizzetti on the 16th of April 1924. Between the Second World War and the decade to follow, Naples and the San Carlo welcomed many of the worlds most outstanding conductors including Italians Gui, Serfin, Santini, Gavazzeni and foreigners Böhm, Fricsay, Scherchen,Clutens, Knappertsbusch and Mitropoulos.
In October of 1958 the orchestra had the honour of being directed by world renowned composer and conductor Igor Stravinsky.
During the sixties, two emerging artists had a chance to stand on the podium: Claudio Abbado in 1963 and Riccardo Muti in 1967. At the same time, the Theatre's Orchestra began to make a name for itself abroad, thanks to a series of high-profile tours.
After the Second World War, the San Carlo was the first Italian orchestra to perform abroad, playing at London's Covent Garden Theatre in 1946. In 1951 the orchestra was a guest at the Strasburg Festival and took part in the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of Verdi's death at the Opéra in Paris.
After the 1956 Festival of Nations in Paris and the prestigious festival in Edinburg in 1963, the San Carlo went on a long tour in Brazil in 1969. Other international concerts include those in Budapest (1973), Dortmund (1981), Wiesbaden (1983, 1985, 1987) and finally in New York and Charleston with Pergolesi's Raminio.
In the Eighties, with further appearances by Muti and Gavezzeni, the Orchestra drew inspiration from conductor
Daniel Oren, especially with regard to theatrical pieces. Over the next decade, the orchestra began an intense collaboration with
Salvatore Accardo who added a new emphasis on symphonic performances which eventually led to collaboration with other famous conductors such as
Giuseppe Sinopoli (who conducted Verdi's Requiem in 1998) and Lorin Maazel who in 1999 conducted Beethoven's ninth symphony with much critical acclaim.
In the wake of these successful collaborations, the San Carlo Orchestra, largely renewed and rejuvenated, found itself working, once again, with some of the world's most famous conductors such as di Georges Prêtre, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Mstislav Rostropovic, Gary Bertini, Djansug Khakidze and Jeffrey Tate (who was appointed as Musical Director in May 2005).
They then began to explore the great and masterful repetoires of Bruckner and Mahler, which had been previously less familiar to the orchestra, and to venture into the more contemporary repertoires of
Gustav Kuhn and
Bestini (who was Musical Director at the San Carlo for the 2004-2005 season) and, naturally,
Gabriele Ferro (who led the orchestra from 1999 until July 2004).
In September 2001, Ferro took the orchestra to perform Stravinsky's Perséphone-OEdipus Rex in the ancient theatre in Epidauro, Greece, with a an all-star cast including Gérard Depardieu and Isabella Rossellini. In June, 2005 the Orchestra went on tour in Japan in the cities of Tokyo and Kyoto, performing two Verdi operas,
Luisa Miller and
Il Trovatore, and participatomg at the International Festival of Sacred Music
Anima Mundi in Pisa, performing the
Cantante per San Gennaro (edited by
Roberto De Simone).
The Orchestra also played a significant part in winning the prestigious Abbiati Prize twice. Indeed, the prize was awarded by Italian music critics in 2002 for Königskinder ("...Jeffrey Tate", the review states, "brought both the discipline of a chamber ensemble and a romantic livliness to the performance") and in 2004 for
Elektra. In October 2007, a tour at the Scala Theatre in Milan gave the Orchestra the opportunity to perform
Il Socrate Immaginario by
Giovanni Paisiello (conducted by Antonello Fogliari and produced by Roberto De Simone) and to play a symphonic concert conducted by
George Pehlivanian.
The Orchestra
Organico dell'Orchestra Artistic SecretaryM° Francesco Andolfi
