Teatro El Círculo is a
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
in
Rosario,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Overview
It is located near the historical center of the city, at the intersection of Laprida and Mendoza Streets. Planned as a
lyric theater, it was developed as ''Teatro La Ópera'' by Emilio O. Schiffner, who purchased the society of the same name in 1889. Schiffner contracted German engineer George Goldammer, an
acoustician
Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...
who modified the original design, and the construction firm of Bianchi, Vila y Compañía. Following delays caused by the
Panic of 1890
Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reactio ...
, as well as the earlier society's debts, the theatre was started in 1903. Italian artists, directed by Luggi Levoni, decorated both the interiors and exteriors; among their notable creations was the stage curtain designed by Giuseppe Carmignani with images from
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
similar to those found in the
Teatro Regio di Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma, originally constructed as the Nuovo Teatro Ducale (New Ducal Theatre),Martini, "Before the Teatro Regio", pp. 56 is an opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy.
Replacing an obsolete house, the new Ducale achieved pro ...
. Teatro La Ópera was inaugurated on June 4, 1904, with the performance of
Giuseppe Verdi's ''
Otello''.
The theater received many artists from around the world, including opera singers, ballets, and orchestras.
Enrico Caruso performed there in 1915, and compared its acoustic quality to that of the
Metropolitan Opera House in
New York.
[
After this phase of splendor, the theater began to decay, and by 1940 its demolition was being actively considered by the city. The abandoned catacombs underneath the theatre were converted into the Museum of Sacred Art in 1940 to house the prolific work of sculptor ]Eduardo Barnes
Eduardo Amancio Barnes (March 24, 1901 – August 31, 1977) was an Argentine sculptor, and one of his country's preeminent creators of sacred art.
Life and work
Barnes was born in Rosario in 1901. The self-taught sculptor worked with clay, marble ...
.[
The theater has a capacity of 1,450 people, in five levels. It currently functions mostly as a cultural center. It was fully restored for its 100th anniversary in 2004, and served as a stage for the Third International Congress of the Spanish Language. The sidewalks and the two streets around the corner of the theater were turned into a sort of plaza with an early 20th-century look, using old lampposts and replacing the usual asphalted surface with cobblestones.][
]
Gallery
File:Teatro El Círculo interior.JPG, Concert hall ceiling
File:Teatro El Círculo panorama 1.jpg, View of the building
File:Teatro_El_Círculo_2.jpg, Access to the building, corner of Laprida and Mendoza streets
See also
* List of concert halls
References
External links
Virtual Visit around the Theater (Rosario)
fro
VisitaRosario.com
*
Works and sites of patrimonial value
of the municipality of Rosario
{{authority control
Theatres in Argentina
Opera houses in Argentina
Culture in Rosario, Santa Fe
Buildings and structures in Rosario, Santa Fe
Theatres completed in 1904
Music venues completed in 1904
Tourist attractions in Rosario, Santa Fe