Sala Cecília Meireles is a theatre in the Lapa district of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

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 ...

. It is noted for its chamber music and is considered to be one of the best venues in terms of acoustics in the city, as well as one of the most traditional in its design. The 670-seat theatre is named in honor of Brazilian author and amateur pianist

Cecília Meireles Cecília Benevides de Carvalho Meireles (7 November 1901 – 9 November 1964) was a Brazilian writer and educator, known principally as a poet. She is a canonical name of Brazilian Modernism, one of the great female poets in the Portuguese l ...

History

The building was erected in the late 19th century as the Grande Hotel da Lapa, which hosted many major landowners and politicians of the

First Brazilian Republic The First Brazilian Republic, also referred to as the Old Republic ( pt, República Velha ), officially the Republic of the United States of Brazil, refers to the period of Brazilian history from 1889 to 1930. The Old Republic began with the de ...

. In 1948 the building was renovated and turned into a cinema with the name Cine Colonial. Two decades later, in 1965, as part of the celebrations of the fourth centenary of the city of Rio de Janeiro, the old cinema was converted into the Sala Sala Cecília Meireles. The goal of the renovation was to create a space for classical music, especially chamber music. The building was renovated under the leadership of Rio Governor

Marcello Alencar Marcello Nunes de Alencar (August 23, 1925 – June 10, 2014) was a Brazilian politician and lawyer. Alencar served as the Governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro from 1995 until 1999, as well as two tenures as Mayor of Rio de Janeiro from 1983 t ...

, which included acoustic treatment and was completed in 2014. The renovation also included the creation of a new 150-person auditorium, the Auditório

Guiomar Novaes Guiomar Novaes (February 28, 1895 – March 7, 1979) was a Brazilian pianist known for individuality of tone and phrasing, singing line, and a subtle and nuanced approach to her interpretations. Biography Born in São João da Boa Vista (in the a ...

, and a new reception space, the Espaço Ayres de Andrade. Since 2004, the theatre has been led by the composer João Guilherme Ripper.

Links

Official website Sala Cecília Meireles

References

Theatres in Rio de Janeiro (city) {{Brazil-theat-struct-stub