Teatro Regio Torino 17 May 2020 - The Wizard of Oz | GoComGo.com

The Wizard of Oz

Teatro Regio Torino, Turin, Italy
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3 PM
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Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Turin, Italy
Starts at: 15:00
Acts: 2
Duration: 2h
Titles in: English,Italian

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If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Overview

Based on the successful novel - immortalized by the movie, a great classic in the history of cinema directed by Victor Fleming and starring Judy Garland - a new, refined and engaging opera with a shimmer of swing, able to "speak" to any kind of audience. 

History
Premiere of this production: 16 June 1902, Grand Opera House, Chicago

The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The main plot of the show, as recounted in newspapers of the time, is Pastoria's attempts to regain the throne from the Wizard of Oz. The original protagonists' search for the Wizard puts them on the wrong side of the law.

Synopsis

Act One: The Storm
A young girl named Dorothy Gale lives on the great Kansas prairie with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and cow, Imogene. One day, while she is playing with her pet cow, Imogene, a fierce whirlwind appears. Dorothy and Imogene take shelter in the farmhouse, which is carried far away into the clouds.

Meanwhile, in the hamlet of Center Munch, the little Munchkins dance around their maypole, not noticing that Dorothy's house has fallen to Earth and killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy opens the front door and marvels at the strange Land of Oz. The Good Witch of the North awards her with a magic ring that grants her three wishes and can summon Glinda the Good Witch of the South at any time. The Good Witch then waves her wand and a pair of beautiful shoes appear on Dorothy's feet. She tells Dorothy that if she wants to get home, she must ask the Wizard of Oz to help her.

After a while everyone exits, and Dorothy is left alone with a Scarecrow hung on a pole. She wishes she had someone to talk to, and he comes to life. He gets down from the pole and complains that he has no brain. Dorothy suggests that he join her on the road to the Emerald City, and he sings "Alas for the Man Without Brains." They come upon the Tin Woodman, who has rusted playing his piccolo. As it turns out, his real name is Niccolo Chopper. He explains that the Wicked Witch of the West took his heart, so he cannot love his girlfriend, Cynthia. He joins them in the hope of receiving a heart from the Wizard, so that he can return to Cynthia.

Act Two: The Emerald City
The Keeper of the Gates patrols outside the Emerald City. Sir Wiley Gyle enters, a mad old inventor who has scorned magic since his mother died. He is sent to prison for murdering his wife. The travelers enter the Emerald City.

The Wizard gives the Scarecrow a brain and the Tin Woodman a heart. He declares this the greatest of all his achievements and calls for a celebration. The Ball of All Nations is thrown, in which up to twelve songs are sung by various characters. The Wizard performs a basket trick in which King Pastoria is the mark. In the middle of it Pastoria claims his right to the throne and overthrows the Wizard. A great commotion breaks out, with the Wizard escaping in a hot air balloon. Dorothy, still longing to get home, sets off with her companions to the castle of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South.

Act Three: Glinda's Palace
Dorothy and her friends arrive at Glinda's palace and are welcomed. There are great celebrations, with Glinda promising to send Dorothy home. The whole cast rushes out from the wings and sings the finale.

Venue Info

Teatro Regio Torino - Turin
Location   Piazza Castello, 215

The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) is a prominent opera house and opera company in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. Its season runs from October to June with the presentation of eight or nine operas given from five to twelve performances of each.

Several buildings provided venues for operatic productions in Turin from the mid-16th century, but it was not until 1713 that a proper opera house was considered, and under the architect Filippo Juvarra planning began. However, the cornerstone was not laid until the reign of Charles Emmanuel III in 1738 after Juvarra's death. The work was supervised by Benedetto Alfieri until the theatre was completed.

Teatro Regio, 1740 to 1936
The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) was inaugurated on 26 December 1740 with Francesco Feo's Arsace. It was a sumptuously built facility, seating 1,500 and with 139 boxes located on five tiers plus a gallery.

However, the theatre was closed on royal order in 1792 and it became a warehouse. With the French occupation of Turin during the Napoleonic War the theatre was renamed the Teatro Nazionale and finally, after Napoleon's ascent to Emperor, renamed again as the Teatro Imperiale. Napoleon's fall in 1814 saw the theatre returned to its original name, the Regio. In the following years the opera house went through several periods of financial crisis and it was taken over by the city in 1870.

Other theatres were built and presented seasons of opera in Turin. Among them was the restored Teatro Carignano in 1824. It too was acquired by the municipality in 1932 and, after the destruction by fire of the Teatro Regio in 1936, the Carignano was to serve as the main venue for opera in the city until the Regio reopened in 1973.

Even before it burnt down, discussions about whether to rebuild the Regio or create a brand new theatre preoccupied Turin in the early twentieth century. Two plans were presented and the one selected expanded the seating capacity to 2,415 by removing the fourth and fifth levels of boxes and creating a huge amphitheatre. Work was completed in 1905 but the theatre closed during the First World War and re-opened in 1919. Until February 1936, seasons of opera were presented until fire destroyed all but the facade of the Teatro Regio. It remained closed for thirty-seven years. Arturo Toscanini was the conductor of the Turin Opera from 1895 to 1898, during which time several productions of the works of Wagner were given Italian premieres.

Rebuilt Teatro Regio after 1973
Following the fire, a national competition was launched to find an architect. However, due to the war and the overall financial situation, the foundation stone was laid on 25 September 1963. Even then, work did not start until September 1967 under architect Carlo Mollino.

The rebuilt theatre, with its striking contemporary interior design but hidden behind the original facade, was inaugurated on 10 April 1973 with a production of Verdi's I vespri siciliani directed by Maria Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano.

The new house seats 1,750 and is elliptical in shape with a large orchestra level and 37 boxes around its perimeter. An acoustic shell was added to improve its sound.

The house presents a wide range of operas during its seasons, including contemporary works, although in the first years of the new century financial pressures have made the programming somewhat more conservative and favoring more 19th-century operas.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Turin, Italy
Starts at: 15:00
Acts: 2
Duration: 2h
Titles in: English,Italian
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