Asmara Theatre ( it, Teatro di Asmara), also known as Asmara Opera, is a

theatre 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 ...

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

. It was constructed in 1918 following a design by the Italian engineer Odoardo Cavagnari, with later renovations in 1936.

Characteristics

The building combines elements of Romanesque Revival and

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

. The painting of the ceiling of the auditorium shows the tendencies of the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

. Indeed, the roof has paintings by Saverio Fresa with dance images. It was one of the most famous buildings in Italian Asmara. The building was erected on a hillside in Italian

, at the eastern end of the north side of today's Harriet Avenue (the old Corso Italia, later named Corso Mussolini and now the main road of Asmara) and at the corner of Beleza Street. This location made it possible to make the ascent to the Opera as a monumental staircase, which is circled on both sides by a shell-shaped fountain and a Renaissance-style loggia with

Corinthian column The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

s. The rest of the exterior of the building, especially the Beleza Street side facing, is castle-like, designed with battlements and towers. From the porch, it is possible to reach the foyer, which in turn gives access to the huge auditorium. This has, in addition to the parquet floor, three additional levels and can have 750 spectators. The stage is relatively small and does not have additional technical equipment. In 1938 the international car race called the Asmara circuit was started exactly in front of the Opera building, on the Viale Roma (now called Sematat Avenue). The building was named ''Teatro Asmara'' until after being purchased by Eritrea and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

in 1952 from the Italian owners for far below the market value. After the independence of Eritrea in 1991/93, it was dispossessed and is now

state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...

property again. In the foyer, there is now a cafe, and in a side building, the headquarters of the national telephone company

Eritel The Eritrean Telecommunication Services Corporation (formerly the Telecommunications Service of Eritrea), more commonly known as EriTel, is the sole operator of landline telephone communication infrastructure in Eritrea. It is also the sole oper ...

. In Asmara Theatre were performed many " commedie" and opera works like those of Pirandello and music by

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

and

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

, with soprano from the best theatres in Italy: for example, in 1951 was performed "La Patente" of Pirandello and music of Chopin.Teatro Asmara: prosa & musica on 08/23/1951
/ref> After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and until the 1970s even international companies performed in the Asmara Theatre with famous "artistic & musical tours", like those of Renato Rascel and Renato Carosone. The theatre was still occasionally used in 2012.

Notes

Bibliography

* Jean-Bernard Carillet: ''Ethiopia & Eritrea''. 2009. * Leonardo Oriolo: ''Asmara Style''. Asmara 1998, S. 149.

Characteristics

Notes

Bibliography

See also