Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Argentina (1890)

Artist/Designer: Jules Dormal, Víctor Meano, Francesco Tamburini

Project Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Figure 1: Main stage with performers on it ( Source | Accessed : March 1, 2023 | Photographer: Carlos Zito )

Figure 2 ( Source | Accessed : March 1, 2023 )

Figure 3 ( Source | Accessed : February 23, 2023 )

Figure 4 ( Source | Accessed : February 28, 2023 )

Figure 5 ( Source | Accessed : February 28, 2023 )

Figure 6 ( Source | Accessed : March 1, 2023 )

Figure 7 ( Source | Accessed : March 1, 2023 )

Figure 8: Marble dragon adorning the end of the grand staircase ( Source | Accessed : March 1, 2023 )

Figure 9: The grand staircase ( Source )

Figure 10: Floor mosaic in main foyer ( Source )

Figure 11: Stained glass window in the hall of busts ( Source )

Figure 12: Stained glass ceiling on the second floor ( Source )

Figure 13: Hall of busts ( Source )

Figure 14: Golden room ( Source )

Figure 15: Stage ( Source )

Figure 16 ( Source )

Figure 17: Ceiling painting ( Source )

Figure 18: Floor seats ( Source )

Figure 19: View of the six rows of seating ( Source )

Figure 20: Outside view ( Source | Accessed : March 1, 2023 | Photographer: Andrzej Otrębski )

Figure 21: Architectural plan ( Source )

Figure 22: Architectural plan ( Source | Accessed : February 23, 2023 )

Style/Period(s):
Neoclassical, Renaissance

Primary Material(s):
Glass, Concrete

Function(s):
Concert Hall, Entertainment, Theater, Cultural Center

Related Website(s):

Teatro Colón website | Accessed : March 1, 2023

History of the Teatro Colón | Accessed : March 1, 2023

About the restoration | Accessed : March 1, 2023

Significant Date(s):
1890-1899, 1890, 1900-1909, 1908, 2006, 2010

Additional Information:
Publications/Texts in Print:
Benzecry, Claudio E. “An Opera House for the ‘Paris of South America’: Pathways to the Institutionalization of High Culture.” Theory and Society 43, no. 2 (2014): 169–96. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43694714.
Rosselli, John. “The Opera Business and the Italian Immigrant Community in Latin America 1820-1930: The Example of Buenos Aires.” Past & Present, no. 127 (1990): 155–82. http://www.jstor.org/stable/650945.

Additional Information:
The Teatro Colón (Columbus Theatre) is one of the ten best opera houses in the world according to National Geographic. It also has the best acoustics for opera and second best for concerts in the world according to expert Leo Beranek and other opera and orchestra directors. It has a capacity of 2,487 people.

Project Description:
The Teatro Colón was built in the late 19th and early 20th century so that Argentina could have a world renowned opera house to rival those in Europe. Due to the frequent shift in designers, the style of the opera house has a mix of styles

Building Address:
Cerrito 628,
C1010 CABA,
Argentina

Supporting Designers/Staff:
Marcel Jambon - French artist who painted the dome in the main room
Raúl Soldi - Argentine painter who restored the dome from December 1965-March 1966

Significant Dates:
Construction began in 1890 and the theatre opened May 25th, 1908.
The theatre was close October 2006 through May 2010 for extensive renovations. It re-opened May 24th, 2010.

Associated Projects:
Palace of the Argentine National Congress in Buenos Aires

Tags:
Theatre, Opera House, Argentina, Buenos Aires, historic

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