Theatro da Paz (Peace Theater), is a brazilian

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 ...

located in the Praça da República (Republic Square) on the city of

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...

, capital of the state of

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...

, in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Theatro da Paz was built following neoclassical architectural lines, within the golden age of

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...

in Amazon Basin. It is considered the most important culture house in northern

. Its name has been suggested by bishop D. Macedo Costa, who also launched the ''fundamental stone'' of its construction, on March 3, 1869. Along the years, Theatro da Paz has suffered minor alterations in its façade, namely the reduction of the number of columns over the main entrance. Its architectural lines remain unaltered, though.

History

Theatro da Paz was planned by

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

José Libúrcio Pereira Magalhães, with some alterations added by the Public Constructions office. Construction ended in 1874, but the theater was only opened to the public after an administrative investigation against its builders took place. The premiere feature an

Adolphe d'Ennery Adolphe Philippe d'Ennery or Dennery (17 June 181125 January 1899) was a French playwright and novelist. Life Born in Paris, his real surname was Philippe. He obtained his first success in collaboration with Charles Desnoyer in ''Émile, ou le ...

drama called '' The Two Orphans'', having taken place on February 16, 1878 and organized by Vicent Pontes de Oliveira theater company, which deal with Theatro da Paz lasted for five years and made him responsible also for the stage lights, decoration, choreography and

props A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

, as well as for the organisation within this period. Theatro da Paz, as in Leandro Tocantins, "''is the definitely neoclassical''". On each side, there are patios surrounded by columns and staircases giving access to Praça da República (Republic Square). Straw seats in the shape of a horseshoe. In the lobby, there are two carrara-marmor busts: José de Alencar e

Gonçalves Dias Antônio Gonçalves Dias (; August 10, 1823November 3, 1864) was a Brazilian Romantic poet, playwright, ethnographer, lawyer and linguist. A major exponent of Brazilian Romanticism and of the literary tradition known as " Indianism", he is f ...

, who introduced the indianismo in

. In the noble hall, next to a giant-sized crystal mirror, remain the busts of maestros Carlos Gomes and Henrique Gurjão. In Theatro da Paz, Carlos Gomes ran his most famous opera, '' O Guarani'', and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...

also touched its stage with her ballet shoes. Decoration was planned by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Domenico de Angelis who also decorated Teatro Amazonas in Manaus. He also painted the theater's panel in its spectacle room's roof, which depicted

Greek gods The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house th ...

, as well as the Jover roof, which was lost due to an infiltration and later restored in 1960 by another Italian artist, Armando Baloni. In 1904, during Augusto Montenegro's government, four busts representing

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

and

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

were included in Theatro da Paz decoration. During the golden age of rubber, world's most famous lyrical companies featured their presentations in the theater, but after the rubber era, it has been neglected and suffered from bad maintenance. After Armando Baloni's painting, in 1960, Pará state governon then, Aurélio do Carmo, kept the restoration until 1965, under Jarbas Passarinho's administration, Theatro da Paz was finally fully recovered and reopened to the public. The writing "Theatro", in archaic Portuguese, has been kept. Theatro da Paz underwent another major reformation in the 90s, under governor Almir Gabriel, when its original colors were restored. It was also during his administration that modern Opera Festivals begun to take place, with free or low-cost renditions of operas like Il_Barbiere_di_Seviglia_.html" ;"title="The Barber of Seville">Il Barbiere di Seviglia ">The Barber of Seville">Il Barbiere di Seviglia or O Guarani. When declared by Brazil's Institute for Protection of Historical and Architectural Patrimony, its president chose Theatro da Paz as one of the "14 most beautiful jewels of Brazilian patrimony". The Theater has an exchange partnership with the

University of Missouri School of Music The School of Music is an academic division of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Its focus is the study of music, awarding baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees as part of the College of Arts and Science. The institut ...

in Columbia, Missouri,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

References

External links

Theatro da Paz official website
In Portuguese {{Coord, 01, 27, 10, S, 48, 29, 37, W, display=title, region:BR_type:landmark Theatres in Pará Buildings and structures in Belém Neoclassical architecture in Brazil Buildings and structures in Pará Tourist attractions in Pará