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 members, the same number as the present-day ensemble. 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 the celebration of the centenary of Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, transmitted on Rai Uno on the 14th January 2000.

While the focus of the chorus of the Teatro dell’Opera is a repertoire that ranges from the eighteenth century to contemporary music, it has also given distinguished performances of symphonic 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, George Solti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Daniel Oren, 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 opera Othello and Iphigenie en Aulide.

The chorus has also travelled in tournée with prestigious tours to Japan, Hannover for Expo 2000, the Kremlin in 2003 and Sydney in 2004 with a performance of the Requiem Mass by Giuseppe Verdi conducted by Maestro Gelmetti, together with the orchestra groups from the Sydney Opera House.

The high quality of the chorus has always been ensured by the participation of renowned directors such as Roberto Benaglio, Giuseppe Conca, Gianni Lazzari, Tullio Boni, Augusto Parodi, Giuseppe Piccillo, Alfredo D’Angelo, Vittorio Rosetta, Ime Meister, Romano Gandolfi, Norberth Balatsch, Marcello Seminara. From October 2000 to August 2010 Maestro Andrea Giorgi was the director and since September 2010 Maestro Roberto Gabbiani has taken the reins.