Evenings, when there is a performance, backpacks and jean jackets are traded for diamonds, evening bags and minks. This theater-going crowd usually holds season tickets. The season runs autumn to late June and treats residents to such operas as Madame Butterfly and the works of Wagner. And when the show is in town, the cast, including the orchestra directors, usually make it over to the Caffe del Teatro for some java during the day. Proof is the collage of autographed photographs of some of Italy's great opera stars, as well as those from Germany and other countries.
People know they're going to be here.
As long as the theater is here, it still happens. The caffe closes by 9 p.m. every night, after the theater crowd is gone. One of the best things about the caffe is there's no extra charge to take your coffee,tea or hot chocolate, and bring it to the back room to sit. If you want table service, with a waiter, then you'll pay extra. On days of graduation parties, there will be 400 people in the bar through the course of the day.