The boxes of the Teatro Sociale, as in most theaters, belonged to nobles, including, of course, the 54 Bergamasque nobles who partnered to build the theater.
For the allocation of these spaces no one could choose and it was decided to go by lot.
It was a different choice from what happened at Teatro Riccardi (today’s Teatro Donizetti) and many others, perhaps a bit bizarre, but the result of the republican currents that came to Bergamo with the French in the late 1700s after the Revolution. The regulations for the allocation of boxes were put in black and white at a notary and then the subdivision was made on July 30, 1808. The method of tacking, drawing and registering were well defined. Should the position drawn for the I or II order box be deemed unsatisfactory, one could opt for a III row box, or one rejected by others in I and II order. As with the Donizetti Theater, there is no royal box, or palchettone, twice the size of the others and traditionally used to accommodate dignitaries.
It was planned but never built.
Yet great names have passed here!
In 1816, even theEmperor of Austria Francis I came, accompanied by theimpetress Maria Ludovica.
The sovereigns were in Bergamo from March 11 to 15 and enjoyed the hospitality of the Marquises Terzi.
It was the first time an emperor had come to Bergamo, and he liked the places he visited very much.
On the evening of the 14th he came to the theater to hear a cantata specially written by Mayr.
To welcome the august guest, a brand new stage had been built from the central boxes of the second order above the door.
A large mirror had been placed inside.
At considerable expense, the Sociale was brightly lit.
Everything contributed to welcoming the emperor with joy. THE RESTORATION WORKIn 1830 the founders wanted to pursue a project to renovate the theater.
The operation was entrusted to Alessandro Sanquirico, the famous set designer of La Scala, who repainted both the friezes on the parapets of the boxes and the decorations of the gallery.
The hall, moreover, was illuminated by a “rich lumiera,” a new light that allowed spectators to better see the sets, costumes, and artists’ makeup.
It would thus become easier to appreciate the new curtain painted by Cesare Maironi Da Ponte, who had studied at the Carrara Academy, or the sets by Luigi Deleidi or Pietro Ronzoni. DISTINGUISHED GUESTS Limelight also shone for the artists.
It was a great spectacle the three times Niccolò Paganini came to the theater: tightrope walker, brilliant, amazing with his violin.
Gaetano Donizetti also returned in 1814 and participated in the Season as second bass buffo, though still a student at the Lezioni Caritatevoli.
Great curiosity was aroused in 1876 by the performance of an all-women orchestra, Le dame Viennesi.
There were many elegant ladies present that day who were intrigued by the event, and the musicians proved to be fine artists. Many ladies and grand toilettes even in 1885 when a concert was held on September 12 for the unveiling of the monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi that had just been placed in Piazza Vecchia.
Even a bust of the hero surrounded by flag trophies and many flowers stood out on the stage.