Adelina Patti Theatre [Abercrave]
Theatre building in Abercrave, United Kingdom
Adelina Patti Theatre
No heritage stage machinery
Happy 134th birthday to the Adelina Patti Theatre in Wales - UK, officially opened on this day in 1891!Adelina Patti (1843-1919) was one of the most famous sopranos in history owing to the purity and beauty of her lyrical voice and the unmatched quality of her bel canto technique.In 1878 Madame Patti purchased the Craig y Nos Castle estate in Powys, Wales. Ten years later she had the idea of building a theatre, and in mid-1891 the new theatre – her own miniature version of La Scala in Milan – opened to critical acclaim.The 150-seat mini opera house is still very much as it was designed in the 1890s. With historic scenery now nearly 130 years old, the Patti Theatre is a theatrical time capsule that must be preserved.
Craig-y-Nos Castle, Abercrave, Powys, SA9 1GL, Wales
Descriptive text, III. p. 58; View of auditorium, III. p. 57.
The theatre was intended to be a miniature version of La Scala in Milan. It was built using British stage machinery techniques by actor-manager Sir Henry Irving lending some of his stage machinists from the Lyceum Theatre in London to design and fit out the stage machinery of the new opera house.