Italy is famous for opera so Shannon and I decided to take advantage of having a great opera house so near by. The Teatro Massimo Bellini is named after a famous opera composer named Vincenzo Bellini. Bellini was born in Catania in 1801 and was considered a child prodigy. Supposedly he could sing an aria at 18 months. He wrote 12 operas and was one of the greatest composers of his time. He died early at 33 years of age in Paris and his remains were later moved and are now housed at the Duomo in central Catania. Many things in Catania are named after Bellini, the people of Catania are very proud of him.
The theater itself was completed in 1890 and its inaugural performance was Bellini’s Norma. It’s a gorgeous theater with baroque architecture.
Monika has had a box at the theater for close to ten years and invited us to join her. We went to see the opera Medea. I took a picture of the ceiling which shows scenes from each of Bellini's operas.
