CURTAIN OPENS ON THE FULLY-RESTORED HISTORIC ASOLO THEATER

Thursday, 31 August 2006 08:22

SARASOTA, FL. – The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art opened the curtain on America’s only 18^th-century Venetian Theater after its being closed to the public for nearly a decade.  The Historic Asolo Theater is once again poised to host a variety of performances and presentations adding to the Ringling Museum’s diverse cultural offerings.  The first season in the new building begins with an unveiling event, a film presentation for Museum patrons, and an Opening Night Gala.

“The tremendous work we have completed as a team on the Historic Asolo Theater is a sincere testament to our commitment to preserving art and making it accessible to diverse audiences,” said Executive Director Dr. John Wetenhall.  “Our hope is that the community will once again embrace the Theater as it did for decades throughout the Museum’s history.”

The decorative panels of the Theater were created in 1798 in Asolo, Italy to honor the exiled Queen of Cyprus, Caterina Cornaro, who held court in Asolo from 1489 to 1509. The panels feature a portrait of the Queen, profiles of eight influential Italian authors and poets, and extravagant ornamentation.

The Theater was dismantled in the early 1930s and acquired by German antiquarian Adolf Loewi.  Ringling Museum’s first executive director, A. Everett “Chick” Austin Jr., purchased the Theater from Loewi in 1947, and initially opened it in the Museum of Art 1952.  Audiences enjoyed two comic operas on opening night.  Its presence helped establish Sarasota, Fla., as a cultural center.

In 1958 the Theater moved to its new home off the south-west wing of the Museum of Art and then became the original home of the Asolo Theatre Company as well as the Asolo Opera – no the Sarasota Opera.  As a result of the theater’s immense popularity it could not be closed for lengthy restoration and deterioration began.  In addition the constituent performance groups outgrew the diminishing venue and moved to larger facilities. It was eventually closed to the public in the late 1990s.  The theater stood un-used until the panels were dismantled once again to undergo complete restoration and reinstallation into the new 21^st-century Ringling Visitors Pavilion.

A collaborative team of professionals including conservators, architects, curators, construction experts and senior leaders met the challenge of revitalizing the 18^th-century Theater beginning in 2004.  The initiative was part of the Ringling Museum $76-million Master Plan which unfolded in two phases beginning in 2002.  Phase One included restoring the existing buildings and grounds, and Phase Two involved building the facilities necessary for an internationally important institution for the 21^st century.

According to Chief Conservator Michelle Scalera, the essence of the restoration project was to achieve the highest quality preservation respectful of the originality and the future utilization of the functioning Theater.

Scalera, along with conservation assistants David Piurek and Shay Sampson, managed the sub-contractors who cleaned and stored the theater, and performed the comprehensive restoration work in-house over the two years “The opportunity to restore such a rare work of art was very rewarding for the entire Museum and Florida State University,” Scalera said.  “Now that our work is done, we can’t help but feel sad to not be working on it daily, but we are also extremely happy that the community will once again have its historic theater to enjoy.”

The much anticipated unveiling and opening of the theater will take place with two main events, in addition to a special film presentation for Museum patrons during the summer.  The Opening Night Gala will be held on Oct. 6.  As is tradition, the theater will open with an evening of opera.  Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano, Susan Graham headlines an evening that also includes lyric-soprano Kristin Clayton in a performance of Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus.

For more information on events and tickets sales visit www.ringling.org.