Foundation Teatro Metastasio's library of Prato

Presentation of the library

The Library of the Theater Metastasio, which has only material on themes of theatre, has been forming since the early 60s in order to provide the necessary tools of historical and theoretical depth to theatre operators.
Various audio-visual sections, as well as specialized books in the field of theatre, are characteristic for the library: about 100 videotapes of performances produced by the Metastasio or represented by guest groups.
The Fund will be extended from now on with the systematic acquisition of all of the performances represented in the Theatre; a small collection of records with classic music and jazz (about 200 pieces), particularly the '60s and '70s; a rich collection of audio tape recordings of the many concerts given at the Metastasio over the years (particularly precious the few recordings of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Louis Amstrong, Duke Ellington); a photo library of almost all past shows of the Metastasio from 1964 up to this day. The heterogeneous sound material is often used during Music Festivals, as Metastasio Jazz, which involves the music-listening during the seminars: in this sense the use of audio acquires meaning as related to the sessions in theatre.

This method is also often used in adherent initiatives of conferences, the photographic and documentary material owned by the library is proposed and used for thematic exhibitions, and loaned to other institutions for the purposes of documentation and exhibition design.

Resources

• Owned books: 2000;
• Current periodicals: 5;
• Videos: 100;
• Vinyl records: 200;
• Music tapes;
• Photo library.

Service

Local and interlibrary loan.