El Teatro Colón

This will be a regrettably short and photo-less post on a fantastic location.  


El Teatro Colón is one of the finest opera houses in the world (and I'm not just saying that because I did a project on it for my Spanish class back home).  El Colón is the most modern opera house to be built in the classical style.  As a result, it is a gorgeous example of classical architecture dating from just before the World Wars.  Funny story about the architects, they kept dying.  The first just kind of croaked over after finishing the plans, and the second died in an argument with his wife's lover.  The theater those two were working to build was actually a replacement for an earlier incarnation which was housed in the building that is now the national bank, located across from La Casa Rosada.  The second and present incarnation first opened it's doors on May 25, 1908 with Verdi's Aida.  


The building the opera house now occupies is a testament to a deep love of the opera.  Designed with German, French, and (of course) Italian influences and build with Italian and Portuguese marble, French glass and windows, and English mosaic tiles, the building is truly wondrous.  Highlights of the main building include the entry hallway off Calle Libertad and the Salón Dorado.  


But of course, nothing can compare to the theater space itself.  Able to seat about 3,000 spectators, the space itself is a wonder of acoustics.  A perfect mix of soft and hard materials, the concert hall and stage are about as acoustically perfect as is humanly possible.  Legitimately, everyone can hear everything; even those in the 30 peso seats in the section of the theater called "Paraíso" (Paradise, so named because of the altitude of those seats).  The acoustics alone are enough both to attract preeminent directors, opera singers, and ballerinas and to give El Colón a place in the top 5 opera houses in the world.  Honestly, you have to go see it to understand how beautiful the space is.  I can about the data, but the decor and splendor of the theater itself escape me.


So, yeah.  Go to El Teatro Colón.  It's awesome.  And it practically just reopened after about eight years of restoration, so all that gold and gold leaf are extra shiny.


For season schedule go here: El Teatro Colón Main Site