Why go
The theatre connects Corfu's philharmonic tradition with a former home for opera and orchestral performance. It succeeded the San Giacomo theatre, whose building became city hall. Knowing that succession helps make sense of the city's cultural buildings without searching for an auditorium that no longer stands.
The full story
The Municipal Theatre opened in 1902 after years of planning and construction prompted by a growing audience. Italian architect Conrado Pergolesi drew on the model of La Scala in Milan. The building had decorated tiers of boxes, a public gallery and an orchestra space. Its curtain came from its predecessor, the San Giacomo theatre, a direct physical link between Corfu's two opera houses. Local musicians performed there, and the Philharmonic Society's orchestra appeared during parts of the early twentieth century. The theatre was also a social gathering place, with balls alongside performances. German aerial bombardment destroyed it in 1943. That break is essential to understanding the site: descriptions of painted interiors, columns and opera seasons refer to the lost building, not a venue awaiting visitors today. In Corfu city, the surviving San Giacomo building and the philharmonic tradition provide better tangible links to the history told here.