When in 1935 the illustrious orchestra conductor Tullio Serafin took on the role of Artistic Director of the Teatro Reale dell’Opera he established a chorus of ninety singers, the same number the company has today. The chorus has always played a fundamental part in the artistic life of the Theatre and the city, significantly contributing to the great seasons of the 1900s and the summer seasons at Caracalla, inaugurated in 1937 to celebrate the centenary of Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, which was broadcast on Rai Uno on 14 January 2000.
While the focus of the chorus of the Teatro dell’Opera is a repertoire that ranges from the 18^th century to contemporary music, it has also given distinguished performances of symphony and religious music under the baton of celebrated conductors such as Arturo Toscanini, Victor De Sabata, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Herbert von Karajan, Carlo Maria Giulini, Giuseppe Patanè, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Bernstein, Georges Prêtre, Georg Solti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Daniel Oren and Gianluigi Gelmetti, with whom recordings have been made of Iris by Pietro Mascagni and La fiamma by Ottorino Respighi. During the 2008 and 2009 seasons Riccardo Muti conducted the ensemble in the operas Otello and Iphigénie en Aulide.
The chorus has also travelled on prestigious tours to Japan, Hanover (for Expo 2000), the Kremlin (2003) and Sydney (2004) with a performance of the Requiem Mass by Giuseppe Verdi conducted by Maestro Gelmetti, together with the orchestral sections of the Sydney Opera House. The high quality of the chorus’ work has always been ensured by such renowned directors Roberto Benaglio, Giuseppe Conca, Gianni Lazzari, Tullio Boni, Augusto Parodi, Giuseppe Piccillo, Alfredo D’Angelo, Vittorio Rosetta, Ime Meister, Romano Gandolfi, Norbert Balatsch and Marcello Seminara. From October 2000 to August 2010 Maestro Andrea Giorgi was the Director and since September 2010 this post has been held by Maestro Roberto Gabbiani.