The Teatro Novissimo was a theatre in Venice located in the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo with its entrance on the Calle de Mendicanti. It was the first theatre built in Venice specifically for the performance of opera. Because it was purpose-built, it had a wider stage than its existing competitors which allowed for the elaborate productions which became the Novissimo's hallmark. The theatre opened in the Carnival season of 1641 with the premiere of Sacrati's opera La finta pazza. After its last production in 1645, the theatre was closed amidst mounting debts and was demolished in 1647.
Canaletto's 1740 depiction of the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo, where the Teatro Novissimo once stood. It was demolished in 1647.
One of Torelli's set designs for the Teatro Novissimo depicting the City of Venice
La finta pazza is an opera composed by Francesco Sacrati to a libretto by Giulio Strozzi. Its premiere in Venice during the Carnival season of 1641 inaugurated the Teatro Novissimo. It became one of the most popular operas of the seventeenth century.
Frontispiece
Prologue
Act I 1–2
Act I 3 – Act II 7