New documents on the Teatro di Milano 17th-18th-century management. The Teatro Ducale in Milan (1642-1716) and the staging of La Floridea (Novara, 1674)

Abstract

The Collegio delle Vergini Spagnole (Spanish Virgins Boarding School) owned the Milan Theater and used to subcontract it to impresarios—especially the Lonatis, who ran it during a large part of the 17th century, and the Piantanidas, who rebuilt it at the end of the century. This essay deals with its management from 1642 to 1716, discussing economic aspects—from lotteries and raffles linked to the subcontract, to seat and box rental—as well as non-economic ones, e.g. the governor’s control. Reconstructing actual places, from the earliest theater to Piantanida’s new one inside the Ducal Palace, proved harder for lack of period documents; however, archival research provided a valuable mid-century description clarifying some stages in its development. Also, a contract with Antonio and Ascanio Lonati for the 1674 Novara staging of La Floridea, commissioned by the city governor, the Count of Melgar, yielded information on organizational details and costs of singers, orchestra, costumes, and scenes.