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The Paganini Theater was an Italian theater, located in Genova. Inaugurated in 1855, it was situated on the central Via Caffaro. After less than a century of activity, on 23-24 October 1942, it was destroyed during the bombardments on Genova in World War II.
Although significant national theaters were already present in the capital city (such as the Teatro Carlo Felice, the Teatro Colombo, the Teatro del Falcone, the Teatro di Sant'Agostino, the Teatro Apollo, and others), the demand was particularly intense and was seized upon by Francesco Sanguinetti (or Sanguineti), already the manager of the Teatro Carlo Felice. The construction of the new theater was chosen for the area of Via Caffaro, an important artery that connected the city center uphill with the upscale neighborhood of Castelletto, recently developed through the projects of Carlo Barabino and Giovanni Battista Resasco.
The building was located in front of the Collegio-Convitto Commerciale d'Ippolito d'Aste, at the intersection with Via Bruzza. The inauguration took place with a performance of Rigoletto. The Annuario dei teatri di Genova from 1845/1855 summarized the steps that led to the birth of the theater:
The building was of great elegance and sumptuousness: externally adorned with columns, and internally rich in stuccos, gildings, friezes, and draperies. During its construction, it received praise from the specialized press, which in December 1854 wrote, "the new theater, if not for its vastness, at least for its elegance, surpasses that of Carlo Felice". In 1873, it was described as "an extremely elegant theater", and compared in importance with the Teatro Manzoni in Milan and the Teatro Carignano. On several occasions, to generate higher profits from more popular works, performances or concerts of greater importance than those of Carlo Felice were staged due to the organization of the ownership of the boxes.
At that time, Italy had become a unified state less than a year prior, with Victor Emmanuel II as its King. However, the new Kingdom still did not include Venice or Rome, a situation that was a source of tension in internal politics. The assembly took place shortly after the resignation of Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour's successor, Bettino Ricasoli. During the meeting at the Paganini Theater, Garibaldi pointed again to Venice and Rome, and the assembly ended with the establishment of the Emancipatory Society of which Garibaldi was appointed president.
In December 1877, the violinist Camillo Sivori, a student and friend of Paganini, staged a highly successful concert accompanied by pianist Rafael Joseffy. The following evening, the renowned soprano Adelina Patti, along with Ernesto Nicolini, performed La Traviata. The success was remarkable, so much so that the correspondent of the Gazzetta musicale di Milano enthusiastically reviewed the city's response to the event:
On 26 November 1881 the first Genoese performance of Carmen by Georges Bizet took place at the Paganini, starring Célestine Galli-Marié and directed by Emilio Usiglio, with philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche present in the audience to witness it for the first time.
In the 1920 season, performances included Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Ena Surinach, Romano Ciaroff, and Carlo Cavallini; Mignon by Ambroise Thomas; Cavalleria rusticana with Tina Poli-Randaccio and Socrate Caceffo; and Pagliacci with Nedda Gina Viganò and Aureliano Pertile conducted by Federico Del Cupolo. In 1926, Ermete Zacconi held three consecutive performances there.
After the war, it was not rebuilt, and in the same space, with civic number 12, a modern-rationalist style building was later constructed for residential use.
The lighting, innovative for the period, was gas-powered, with a sumptuous chandelier with 76 flames illuminating the auditorium.
Two marble staircases led to the boxes. On the second-order floor, there were three "gracefully painted" rooms for coffee and billiards. Another coffee room was located on the right corner of the theater, accessible both from the street in front and internally from the Foyer for the public. On the fourth-order floor, there were additional three rooms where the first rehearsals of the works took place and were converted into a foyer for dance parties or as an outlet in case of excess spectators.
Above, there was an apartment intended as a residence for the manager, as well as other rooms for the caretaker's accommodation and offices. Going up more stairs, there was the dressing room for artists, the choir, the band, the Choir, and the extras. Finally, it was abundantly supplied with running water for cleaning, an uncommon feature at that time and therefore mentioned in the period descriptions.
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