Teatro Novissimo

The Novissimo (the word means "Newest" in English) would be unique in that it was purpose-built for staging opera and, unlike the other three, was built and owned by a consortium rather than a single noble family.

[a] The consortium consisted of the patrician Luigi Michiel and members of the Accademia degli Incogniti who included the librettists Giulio Strozzi, Giacomo Badoaro, and Giovanni Francesco Busenello.

[1] On 30 May 1640 the consortium signed a contract with the Dominican friars of Santi Giovanni e Paolo allowing them to construct and operate a theatre on land adjacent to the monastery which at the time was occupied by a large shed.

[2][3] The Teatro Novissimo was inaugurated in the Carnival season of 1641 with the premiere of La finta pazza composed by Francesco Sacrati to a libretto by Giulio Strozzi with elaborate stage machinery by Giacomo Torelli.

The "cannocchiale" ("telescope") of the title refers to the book's stated purpose of providing a description of the visual effects not only for those who had been unable to attend, but also for those who had been seated far from the stage, implying that the Novissimo was probably a fairly large theatre.

Several investors plus Giacomo Torelli, Paulo Morandi (the theatre's costume designer), and four singers, including Anna Renzi, sued Lappoli for unpaid debts and wages in the summer of 1645.