The musical and theatrical tradition of Adria is deeply rooted.
Indeed, the presence of a theatre in the area where the Civil Hospital stands today during Roman times appears to be certain.
In the second half of the sixteenth century thanks to Luigi Groto’s (the Blind man of Adria) efforts, the town was endowed with a theatrical structure in which some of his works were
performed.
With the exception of a few shows, which took place in the seventeenth century and of which there is no clear record, it is only in 1803 that the deconsecrated church of S. Stefano, which gave the theatre its name, was used as a theatre.
On the contrary, the documents and the testimonies concerning a subsequent theatre are not lacking. Over the course of the years and of various directorships, the theatre underwent several changes of name: Teatro Fidora, Teatro della Società and Teatro Orfeo. The activity of this theatre covers about a century and represents a tradition of melodrama and opera which is still alive today.
After a lengthy period of planning and construction, a new building was inaugurated in September 1935: the present-day Teatro Comunale, as it was named in recent times, after having been known as Teatro del Littorio and Teatro del Popolo. After some very successful seasons, this theatre still stages performances, thus keeping the lyric and prose tradition of Adria alive.