The Great National Theatre of Mexico was a large opera house in Mexico City. Gran_Teatro_Nacional_de_México

Milestones in its history

Gran Teatro Nacional Mexico City by Pedro Gualdi

The theatre was built between 1840 and 1844 by architect

Lorenzo de la Hidalga Lorenzo de la Hidalga (4 July 1810 – 1872) was a Spanish architect who spent most of his career in Mexico. Few of his buildings have survived, due to earthquakes, urban redevelopment, and other factors. Biography He was born in Vitoria-Gas ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. It was located at the end of Cinco de Mayo Ave., on Vergara Street (now Bolívar). It had a capacity of more than 3,500 people; that is to say, 1,500 more seats than the present-day

Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It has hosted notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature in Mexico and has held important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and p ...

. Historians consider it the most important architectural work in Mexico City between the completion of the Metropolitan Cathedral and the building of the

. The Great National Theatre was inaugurated in one of

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...

's terms as president. Its name changed successively, from Great Theatre of Santa Anna to Great Theatre Vergara, then Great Imperial Theatre, and finally Great National Theatre. During the opera season of 1852 the theatre premiered 17 operas and offered more than 60 performances.

Great Imperial Theatre

During the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...

, by command of emperor

Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian I (german: Ferdinand Maximilian Josef Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen, link=no, es, Fernando Maximiliano José María de Habsburgo-Lorena, link=no; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who reigned as the only Emperor ...

, the theatre changed its name to Great Imperial Theatre. During this period it was directed by Spanish playwright

José Zorrilla José Zorrilla y Moral () was a Spanish poet and dramatist, who became National Laureate. Biography Zorrilla was born in Valladolid to a magistrate in whom Ferdinand VII placed special confidence. He was educated by the Jesuits at the Real Se ...

. In this period a scandal occurred relating to the opera ''Ildegonda'' by

Melesio Morales Melesio Morales (sometimes spelled Melisio Morales) (December 4, 1838 – May 12, 1908) was a Mexican composer. Morales was born and died in Mexico City, where he studied music; two of his operas, written in Italian, were performed there. He ...

, which premiered on 27 January 1866. When the opera was ready, a group of notables, including Don José Urbano Fonseca and Don José Ignacio Durán, went to see the impresario of the Great Imperial Theatre, Don Annibale Biacchi, so that Morales's opera could premiere there. Biacchi answered that he would not stage a work by a Mexican, which would damage his business.

Great National Theatre

After the death of the emperor

and the restoration of the Republic, the theatre was renamed Great National Theatre. Around this time was the worldwide première of ''Cleopatra'' by

, writes Mañón:Manuel Mañón: "Historia del viejo Gran Teatro Nacional de México", México: CONACULTA 2010, Tomo II. p. 390,

Demolition

The Great National Theatre was demolished between 1900 and 1901 to extend the . The demolition was justified with the promise that the theatre would be replaced by the

, whose construction began in 1904, but was interrupted by the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

, and finally opened in 1934. In the more than 30 years between the demolition of the old theatre and the inauguration of the

, opera performances took place at the Teatro Principal and the Teatro Arbeu. Of all these theatres the plans have been restored, and they could be rebuilt.

Worldwide premières at the Great National Theatre of Mexico

* 1859: ''Catalina de Guisa'', three-act opera by

Cenobio Paniagua Cenobio Paniagua y Vásques (September 30, 1821, Tlalpujahua, Michoacán – November 2, 1882, Córdoba, Veracruz) was a Mexican composer. Paniagua completed his studies in violin and became the Second Conductor of the Cathedral Orchestra of M ...

. * 1863: ''Romeo y Julieta'', opera by

. * 1864: ''Agorante, rey de la Nubia'', opera by Miguel Meneses. * 1866 (27 January): ''Ildegonda'', three-act opera by Melesio Morales. * 1871 (9 February): ''Don Quijote en la venta encantada'', libretto by A. Garcìa and music by Miguel Planas. * 1871 (13 September): ''Guatimozin'', one-act opera by Aniceto Ortega de Villar, with tenor

Enrico Tamberlick Enrico Tamberlik (16 March 1820 – 13 March 1889) was an Italian tenor who sang to great acclaim at Europe and America's leading opera venues. He excelled in the heroic roles of the Italian and French repertories and was renowned for his po ...

and soprano

Ángela Peralta Ángela Peralta (6 July 1845, Mexico City – 30 August 1883, Mazatlán) (baptised María de los Ángeles Manuela Tranquilina Cirila Efrena Peralta Castera) was an operatic soprano of international fame and a leading figure in the operatic ...

. * 1877: ''Gino Corsini'', four-act opera by Melesio Morales. * 1891: ''Cleopatra'', four-act opera by Melesio Morales.

References

Bibliography

* ''Contenido'' magazine, March 2009, "Crónicas de la Ciudad: Así era el Gran Teatro Nacional", by Alberto Barranco Chavarría. * Manuel Mañón: "Historia del viejo Gran Teatro Nacional de México, 1841-1901. Mexico, CONACULTA, 2010.

External links

{{authority control Theatres in Mexico Opera houses in Mexico National theatres