One of the pioneers of Milanese café-concerts
In the first building on Foro Buonaparte designed by Giuseppe Pirovano, the Eden Theatre was inaugurated in 1892, based on an idea by its two creators, Gaspare Stabilini and Malacchia Colombo.
Pirovano himself was responsible for designing the venue, which quickly became one of the pioneers of Milanese café-concerts.
It featured a hall with boxes on three sides, a small stage and numerous tables in the remaining space.
It immediately became an elegant venue for variety shows featuring international performers, including Bella Botero.
For a short period (about two years), it also hosted Greco-Roman wrestling championships and other events.
In 1914, management passed to the Suvini-Zerboni company, which changed its name to “Cabaret Rouge”. Thus began the theatre’s new journey.
However, the new name was not popular, especially with Luciano Zuccoli, who proposed the name “Taverna Rossa” in the pages of Corriere della Sera.
The colour red was a clear reference to the new décor.
Umberto Saba also worked in the offices of the new business, agreeing to take care of the administration of the venue and revise the scripts of some of the shows.
In 1923, Anna Menzio, who later became the famous Wanda Osiris, made her debut on the stage of the Taverna Rossa.
A year later, in 1924, it changed management again and reverted to the name Teatro Eden, but no longer as a café-concert, which had fallen out of fashion. It hosted prose and operetta.
In 1932, it became a cinema and closed permanently in 1986.
