Amazon Theatre, Manaus, Brazil, (1884)

Artist/Designer: Celestial Sacardim

Project Location: Manaus, Brazil

Figure 1: Auditorium ( Source | Accessed : March 23, 2023 | Photographer: Alexinaldo Granela Borja )

Figure 2 ( Source | Accessed : March 23, 2023 | Photographer: James Martins )

Figure 3 ( Source | Accessed : March 23, 2023 | Photographer: James Martins )

Figure 4 ( Source | Accessed : March 23, 2023 | Photographer: Joyce Pinsker )

Figure 5: Auditorium ( Source | Accessed : March 23, 2023 | Photographer: James Martins )

Figure 6: Curtain painting ( Source | Accessed : March 23, 2023 | Photographer: Pedro Angelini )

Figure 7 ( Source | Accessed : March 23, 2023 | Photographer: Pedro Angelini )

Figure 8: Exterior with the pink ( Source | Accessed : March 23, 2023 | Photographer: Rafael Zart )

Figure 9: Exterior with the dome of Brazilian flag coloured tiles on view ( Source | Accessed : March 23, 2023 )

Style/Period(s):
Art Nouveau, Renaissance

Primary Material(s):
Steel, Tile

Function(s):
Theater

Related Website(s):

Theatre website | Accessed : March 23, 2023

BBC article about the theatre | Accessed : March 23, 2023

Guardian article about the theatre | Accessed : March 23, 2023

UNSECO page | Accessed : March 23, 2023

Youtube tour | Accessed : March 23, 2023

Significant Date(s):
1880-1889, 1885, 1890-1899, 1892, 1920-1929, 1929, 1942, 1960-1969, 1966, 1970-1979, 1972, 1990-1999, 1990, 1997

Additional Information:
Publications/Texts in Print:
Beal, Sophia. “MILTON HATOUM’S AMAZON THEATER: UNSETTLING AN ICON.” Romance Notes 56, no. 2 (2016): 187–98. https://www.jstor.org/stable/90012764.
Herkenhoff, Paulo, and Kim Mrazek Hastings. “The Jungle in Brazilian Modern Design.” The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts 21 (1995): 239–58. https://doi.org/10.2307/1504141.

Additional Information:
The theatre appeared in the opening scene of Werner Herzog’s 1982 film, Fitzcarraldo.
Vogue listed it as one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world.

Project Description:
The Amazon Theatre was built in the late 1800s due to the rubber boom that built up the city of Manaus. The citizens in the Amazon rainforest wanted to show the world their wealth and grandeur so they built a theatre to rival the theatres in Europe. It is in a Renaissance Revival style with Art Nouveau influence. The roofing tiles and interior furnishings were from Alsace, France; the steel walls from Glasgow, Scotland; and the marble from Italy. The dome of the theatre has 36,000 ceramic tiles painted in the colours of the Brazilian flag. There are 198 chandeliers and all were imported from Italy.

Building Address:
Largo de São Sebastião - Centro,
Manaus - AM, 69067-080, Brazil

Supporting Designers/Staff:
Portuguese Office of Engineering and Architecture (based in Lisbon) - Architecture firm
Bernardo Antônio de Oliveira Braga - Structural engineer
Crispim do Amaral - Designer
Domenico de Angelis the Younger - Italian artist who painted the ceiling of the auditorium and audience chamber
Crispim do Amaral - Brazilian painter of the curtain's painting, "Meeting of the Waters"

Significant Dates:
1885-1892 - Construction
1895 - Masonry and exterior completed
1896 - Inaugurated 31 December
1924 - Closed regular operations
1929 - Painted blue
1966 - Made a national historic landmark
1972 - Painted grey (painted to match the military junta’s colour scheme where all public buildings had to be grey)
1990 - Painted pink again after a public vote and the interior was updated
1997 - Concerts began to be a consistent occurrence with the creation of the permanent philharmonic orchestra, the Amazonas Philharmonic

Associated Projects:

Tags:
Theatre, Amazon, Brazil, Historic Theatre

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