Trieste's opera house was built between 1798 and 1801 to a design by Giannantonio Selva — the same architect who designed La Fenice in Venice — and remains the city's main venue for opera, ballet, and orchestral music. Verdi's name was attached to it in the 1990s, though the composer himself never performed here. The building fronts directly onto Piazza Verdi, a few minutes from the waterfront.
The season runs roughly September to June. Standards are high and tickets are reasonably priced by Italian opera house standards — far below the Scala or the San Carlo. Check the programme if you are spending more than a night or two in the city.
Even without a performance, the building is worth noting from the outside: a neoclassical facade in the Habsburg manner, slightly worn at the edges, like much of Trieste.