Interior of the Antonio Bibiena Theater

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the building hosting the Academia, which was at the time on the brink of bankruptcy, was donated to the Municipality of Mantua. The National Academy of Virgil remained somewhat inactive, and started functioning again in the thirties; the theatre however remained abandoned. Restoration began only in 1963, and was completed in 1972. The theatre was reopened with a concert by Mozart performed by the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchester. In the following years the Bibiena Theatre became a location where important concerts were held. Great chamber orchestras and famous soloists performed here. In 2007, to celebrate the end of prestigious season, Orpheus by Claudio Monteverdi was staged with the direction of Gianfranco De Bosio, to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of the first performance.