Orchestra
Artistic Secretary
M° Francesco AndolfiPrincipal guest conductor
Maurizio BeniniOrganico dell'Orchestra
Organico dell'OrchestraHistory of the Orchestra
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.
