It works in conjunction with Florida State University's MFA Acting program, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training.Commissioned in 1798 by Italian impresario Antonio Locatelli, the theatre stood in the former audience hall of the castle of Caterina Cornaro, the former Queen of Cyprus.In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the building was the home theatre of the great Italian actress Eleonora Duse.[2] The Asolo Theatre opened its doors on January 10, 1958, with a production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail.The opera starred Robert Rounseville as Belmonte, Beverly Bower as Konstanze, Herbert Beattle as Osmin, and Jacquelynne Moody as Blonde.