Naples' Teatro San Carlo has staged opera since 1737, older than Milan's La Scala by four decades and Venice's La Fenice by half a century, a fact Neapolitans mention with quiet satisfaction. Charles III of Spain, then ruler of the Kingdom of Naples, commissioned architects Giovanni Antonio Medrano and Antonio Nicolini, and composers such as Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi later put its stage to spectacular use.

Its auditorium once held 3300 spectators, a number now closer to 1400 under modern safety rules, suggesting the eighteenth century took a fairly relaxed view of fire exits.

The theatre stands opposite the Galleria Umberto I's grand arched entrance, in the heart of old Naples near Piazza Trieste e Trento and the Royal Palace. VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours trace this route through the historic centre, weaving the opera house into the city's royal and civic story as visitors head toward Piazza Plebiscito.