Established in 1803, for decades Teatro Carcano hosted both theatrical and opera performances, including the premieres of opera like Anna Bolena by Donizetti and La Sonnambula by Bellini, as well as stage masterpieces like Bertolazzi’s El nost Milan. Legends like Eleonora Duse, Maria Malibran, Giuditta Pasta, Niccolò Paganini all made appearances here.
Following years of decline, damage by WWII bombing, the “avanspettacolo” adventure and the transformation into a movie theater, Teatro Carcano returned to its theatrical origins in the early 1980s. Since then the theater has played a key role in the Milanese cultural spectrum. Among the great actors and actresses that have graced its stage in recent years? Gabriele Lavia, Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman, Giorgio Albertazzi, Nino Manfredi, Giorgio Gaber, Lella Costa and Nobel laureate Dario Fo. The theater has also hosted numerous dance performances by some of the world’s most acclaimed dancers.