Opera on stage museum. A journey through music theatre in Parma

The museum, hosted in the House of Music – Palazzo Cusani, with objects, affiches, photos, videso, music, information technology and instruments on display illustres four centuries of opera on stage in Parma.

In 1628, the opera appeared in Parma to inaugurate the Teatro dei Farnese, and back then it was a show reserved for a select few and its purpose was to celebrate a particular event linked to the ruling family in the richest and most memorable way.
Just then, however, the conditions were ripening for that rare and exclusive show to become a public event and the most successful kind of show for the next three hundred years.

Even Parma, after the sumptuous opening of the Teatro dei Farnese, would have adapted to the common trend, with the construction of public theaters, the Teatro Ducale in 1687 and the New Teatro Ducale, now Teatro Regio, in 1829. The Museum takes its cue from the tradition of Parma to retrace four centuries of history of the opera house, through the themes and protagonists who have marked its journey from its origins to the present day.

Dedicated to a wide range of visitors, students as well as opera lovers and experts, the Museum is divided into four halls: two of them focusing on the development of music theatre in Parma and its protagonists and two dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi and its relationship with the town and its culture.
The museum staff can lead the visitors in guided tours, even in English.