Amazon Theatre

The Amazon Theatre (Portuguese: Teatro Amazonas) is an opera house located in Manaus, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. It is the location of the annual Festival Amazonas de Ópera (Amazonas Opera Festival) and the home of the Amazonas Philharmonic Orchestra which regularly rehearses and performs at the Amazon Theatre along with choirs, musical concerts and other performances.

Amazon Theatre
Teatro Amazonas
Amazon Theatre facade
General information
TypeOpera house
Architectural styleRenaissance Revival
AddressEduardo Ribeiro Avenue
Centro
Town or cityManaus
CountryBrazil
Coordinates3°7′49″S 60°1′24″W
Elevation92 m (302 ft)
Current tenantsAmazonas Philharmonic
Construction started1884
Inaugurated31 December 1896 (1896-12-31)
OwnerAmazonas State president
Dimensions
Other dimensions68,70m x 124,50m[1]
Technical details
Floor count3
Floor area92 meters
Design and construction
ArchitectCelestial Sacardim[1]
Architecture firmPortuguese Office of engineering and architecture[1]
Structural engineerBernardo Antônio de Oliveira Braga[1]
Other designersCrispim do Amaral
Other information
Seating capacity701
National Historic Heritage of Brazil

More than 120 years old, it represents the city's heyday during the rubber boom.[2] It was chosen by Vogue magazine as one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world.[3]

History

The Amazonas Theatre was built during the Belle Époque at a time when fortunes were made in the rubber boom. Construction of the Amazon Theatre was first proposed in 1881 by a member of the local House of Representatives, Antonio Jose Fernandes Júnior, who envisioned a "jewel" in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.[4]

In 1882, the State legislature approved some limited financing, but this was considered insufficient. Later that year, the president of the Province, José Lustosa Paranaguá, approved a larger budget and initiated a competition for the presentation of plans. The chosen project was made by the Gabinete Português de Engenharia e Arquitectura, an engineering and architecture office from Lisbon. By 1884, construction was ready to begin under the Italian architect Celestial Sacardim. Work proceeded slowly over the following fifteen years with some stops and restarts from 1885 to 1892.

By 1895, when the masonry work and exterior were completed, the decoration of the interior and the installation of electric lighting could begin more rapidly. The theatre was inaugurated on December 31, 1896, with the first performance occurring on January 7, 1897, with the Italian opera, La Gioconda, by Amilcare Ponchielli.

Architecture and style

The theatre's architectural style is considered typically Renaissance Revival. The roofing tiles were imported from Alsace, the steel walls from Glasgow, Scotland and the Carrara marble for the stairs, statues and columns, from Italy. The dome is covered with 36,000 decorated ceramic tiles painted in the colors of the national flag of Brazil. The interior furnishing came from France in the Louis Quinze style. Italian artist Domenico de Angelis the Younger painted the panels that decorate the ceilings of the auditorium and of the audience chamber. The curtain, with its painting "Meeting of the Waters", was originally created in Paris by Crispim do Amaral. The theatre's 198 chandeliers were imported from Italy, including 32 of Murano glass.

Internal Structure
  • Show room: Has the ability to seat 701 people, its distribution of posts is given in the following way, ground floor with 266 seats, cabins with 100 seats distributed, 1st floor with 110 seats distributed in cabins, 2nd floor with 125 seats distributed in 25 cabins, 3rd floor with 100 seats distributed in 20 cabins.
  • Principal Stage of Presentation: Owns 10.50 metres wide, 6.40 meters high and 11.97 meters deep, the principal stage has 14 meters high, the total area is 123.29 square meters.
  • Part of the Orchestra: Height: 2 m; Width: 6 ' 11; Length: 7 m.
Main hall of the theatre.
Your central office with cabins.
The seatings of audience with capacity for 701 seats.
Monument Abertura dos Portos, located in front of the theatre.
Orchestra playing inside the theatre.
Concert Hall

References
  1. Souza, João Mendonça de. O Grande Amazonas (The Great Amazon).
  2. "Manaus's opulent Amazon Theatre". The Guardian. 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  3. "The 15 most beautiful opera houses in the world". Vogue. 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  4. The Guardian UK, Tuesday 14 April 2015 11.29 BST
  5. Herzog, Werner (2001). Herzog on Herzog. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-20708-1.
  6. Art of Darkness, The Progressive, August 1982
  7. "And the winner is ... : ... a book that lasts. Kevin Crossley-Holland's The Seeing Stone creates a real world whose people you will remember a lifetime, says Anne Fine, introducing our recommendations for young readers". [Anne Fine]. The Guardian 9 October 2001. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  8. "Press Desk: Shortlists for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awarded in 2002". The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards. n.d. Archived from the original on 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2009-06-15.

Further reading
  • Author and naturalist Sy Montgomery gives a historical account of the building of the theatre in her 2001 book, "Journey of the Pink Dolphins".

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