The Donizetti Theatre covers a total area of 3200 square metres. The hall maintains the original design of 1786: it measures 360 square metres and has a capacity of 532 seats (armchairs). The boxes, divided into three rows, are 102 for a total of 1154 seats.
You can easily understand the magnificence of this building and the astonishment that it caused to the people of Bergamo who saw it rise at a time when only small temporary theatres in wood existed.
At the centre of the hall hangs an enormous sparkling crystal chandelier with no less than 78 lamps, in addition to the light sources of the boxes.
For the distribution and harmony of the sound it can be considered among the best in Italy.
Originally called "Riccardi", from the name of its builder, this theatre is however above all the place where the works – more than 70! – of the great master Gaetano Donizetti from Bergamo are made known and appreciated by his fellow citizens.
Imagine Donizetti’s emotion when he was hit by an affectionate and heartfelt ovation from the audience present at the theatre during the opera L’esule di Roma. This consecration took place in 1840; Donizetti died of illness in Bergamo, his native city, a few years later, in 1848.
