The Birth of the Giuseppe Verdi Theatre

The Giuseppe Verdi Theater, inaugurated on August 15, 1868, is located on the upper floor of the right wing of the Rocca Pallavicino. Its origins were particularly troubled: the idea of ​​building the structure had already circulated in the village in 1845, but the project was shelved until the Municipality bought the fortress in 1856.

The following year began - under the supervision of the Parmesan architect Pier Luigi Montecchini - the works for the construction of the new theater, built on the foundations of a previous theater located in the same place. It was the small court theater of the Pallavicino family, in which Verdi had performed in his youth, conducting a symphony for Rossini's Barber of Seville.

The refined access staircase, which connects the entrance on the ground floor to the actual structure on the first floor, is now covered by a red carpet that accompanies visitors into the elegant foyer.

In a niche at the top of the stairs there is the Verdi bust made by the sculptor Giovanni Duprè.

The access stairs lead to the first room: the Foyer.

The smoking room, adjacent to the foyer, has walls covered with leather to avoid the risk of fire; in the upper part there are two large openings that act as air intakes. It was the real pulsating center of the whole Theater: in this room people ate, drank, enjoyed company, did business, like a real club.

The smoking room leads to the "Ridotta", a concert hall in whose raised balcony the musicians performed.

The small door that allowed access to the musicians is visible on the left - partially hidden by the wallpaper motif.

The real protagonist of the room is the huge mirror with a papier-mâché frame, which originally allowed people sitting under the balcony to see - by reflection - the musicians above them.

Much of the decorations inside the Verdi Theater are made of papier-mâché_ an economical, light and sound-absorbing material, optimal for a theatrical structure. In addition, its processing is traditional in Busseto, which has been the site of a historic Carnival for centuries!