When it opened, the theater was called the Royal Theater of San Carlo, named after the Bourbon royal family, but today it is known simply as Teatro di San Carlo and is connected to the Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale) located behind it. It is the oldest continuously operating opera house in the world. It opened in 1737, years before La Scala in Milan and La Fenice in Venice. The opera season runs from late January to May, with the ballet season from April until early June. It has 1,386 seats and served as a model for many theaters across Europe.

The theater was built during a period when Naples was a cultural and musical center, thanks to Charles III, who was a patron of composers and musicians. Music became the Neapolitans’ triumph. Aspiring musicians came to Naples, which was the capital of the arts. The building underwent several waves of renovations, including the insertion of ceramic panels into the walls to improve acoustics, and the theater’s interior was decorated in the traditional red and gold colors.

Aside from some changes—such as the construction of an orchestra pit in 1872 (suggested by Giuseppe Verdi), the installation of an electrical system in 1890 which led to the removal of the central chandelier, and the addition of a lounge and a wing for dressing rooms—the main structure remained unchanged until the Allied bombing during World War II in 1943. The theater was restored by the Allies and reopened within six months, on December 16, 1943.