Restorations: 2006-2009
The restoration work, begun in 2006 and completed in May 2009, delivers to the city a historic theater completely recovered. The foyer floors were resurfaced, the surviving walls, ceilings and finishes were restored, and a new entrance door was installed. Discreet integrative retouches were made to the wooden parapets of the boxes with cabinet work, fixing and protection of the decorations, and restoration of the gaps. The restoration of the first three tiers of boxes (totaling about 550 seats), the resurfacing of the floors, the insertion of a steel structure to reinforce the existing wooden one, the sectioning of the tiers into boxes by means of new partitions, according to the original design, were implemented, the reinforcement of the parapets, the wooden and pictorial restoration of the pillars and suspended ceilings, the construction of the heating, cooling and fire-fighting systems, and the rebuilding of the electrical and lighting system, as well as the provision of adequate restrooms. For the fourth order, the gallery, static consolidation was planned in order to make it easily available for public access in the future through simple completion operations. The return of the Sociale to its original theatrical vocation has also meant the installation of a modern stage machine, with new stage and trellis, while the orchestral pit has been equipped with a mechanical platform that can be raised on three levels. Finally, three new levels of dressing rooms were built to the right of the stage. Today the Teatro Sociale is used by the Donizetti Theater Foundation for staging a number of plays and operas and for holding jazz concerts. It is, in addition, the main location for the Other Paths festival. << PREVIOUS