Solís Theatre (''Spanish'': Teatro Solís) is

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

's most important and renowned theatre. It opened in 1856 and the building was designed by the Italian architect

Carlo Zucchi Carlo Zucchi (February 1789, in Reggio Emilia – 9 September 1849) was an Italian architect. A nephew of the namesake Italian general, Zucchi studied in Paris. Later he was active in the River Plate basin. Selected works * Mausoleum of Manu ...

. It is located in Montevideo's Old Town, right next to the

Plaza Independencia Plaza Independencia () is the most important city square in Montevideo, Uruguay, laid out in the 19th century in the area occupied by the Citadel of Montevideo. In its center is a monument to General José Gervasio Artigas, and below it, his m ...

. The theatre was named after the explorer

Juan Díaz de Solís Juan Díaz de Solís ( – 20 January 1516) was a 16th-century navigator and explorer. He is also said to be the first European to land on what is now modern day Uruguay. Biography His origins are disputed. One document records him as a Portuguese ...

, who was the first European explorer to land in modern day Uruguay. In 1998, the government of Montevideo started a major reconstruction of the theatre, which included two columns designed by

Philippe Starck Philippe Starck (; born 18 January 1949) is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles. Life Starck was born on ...

. The reconstruction was completed in 2004 with the re-opening taking place in August of that year. Acoustic studies of the rehabilitation project was entrusted to Jerome Falala of the French studio ''Avel Acoustique''.

Tomás Giribaldi Tomás Giribaldi (1847-April 11, 1930) was an Uruguayan composer. His opera ''La Parisina'', premiered at the Solís Theatre in Montevideo on September 14, 1878, is considered the first Uruguayan national opera. It was composed in Italian, and se ...

's ''La Parisina'', considered the first Uruguayan national opera, was premiered at the Solís on 14 September 1878.

History

Project's conception

In 1833, a group of influential citizens in Montevideo came together to form a group of stakeholders to construct a new theatre, they formed the Theater Committee which was led by Francisco Margariños. In 1840, the committee received approval from the government to construct a new theatre. The board of directors for the theatre's construction was led by Juan Francisco Giró. Also, the board included distinguished citizens such as

Luis Lamas Luis Lamas was the mayor of the Argentine city of Rosario, Santa Fe Province, from 21 February 1898 to 19 February 1904. He was grandson of Uruguayan politician and patriot Luis María Lamas. During the Lamas administration the city grew consider ...

, Juan Miguel Martínez, Juan Benito Blanco, Francisco Solano Antuña, Ramón Atragaveytia, and Vincente Vázquez. The first meeting of the committee took place on 16 June of the same year. The conception of the theatre was to be a cultural center that represented one's free spirit, and that primarily worked to provide the emerging society of the Eastern State of Uruguay a place for harmony, prosperity, and wealth. The motivation behind constructing a theatre was to have a worthy place where one could be seen socializing and flaunt one's social and political influence. The necessity behind constructing a theatre in Montevideo was the need to elevate one's social and political status through civil associations that had a cultural, scientific, and commercial nature. Therefore, the new theatre would offer a platform for socializing among the societal elite.

The Zucchi Project

In August 1840, the Italian architect Carlo Zucchi presented his plans for the theatre to the stakeholders of the project, detailing where he wanted to construct the theatre. In his report, Zucchi identified and described the area that surrounded the theatre, his suggestions are listed in the following: * A: Area defined by the streets Sarandí, Bartolomé Mitre, Buenos Aires, the beltway

, and crossed by the street Bacacay. * B: The city block defined by Plaza Independencia, and the streets Ciudadela, San José y Liniers. * C: The city block defined by the streets Buenos Aires, Bartolomé Mitre, Reconquista y Liniers. In this information, Zucchi demonstrated concerns about the location of the theatre, he argued that the choice of location would affect its structure, layout and overall appearance. He specified the elements of the theatre, such as the arrangement of the orchestra section, the forum, the

sewer system Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff ( stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and sc ...

, the

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

and water tanks that would feed into the hydraulic

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they u ...

system. So that it would be in accord with the predominant hygienist influence as they were susceptible to the type of soil that the theatre would be placed upon. Moreover, Zucchi put caution to the floor that would be chosen, as it would need to be suitable for all these elements. He mentioned the increase in budget due to the possibility of constructing embarkments, and the variations that the structure of the building would present. Out of the three options of the surrounding area for the theatre, Zucchi preferred option A because it was more suitable for their building. However, in his report he notes how this location had a history of being irregularly lotted. Then the reports changes focus onto option C, mentioning the excavation work that would need to be done, and the existence of a ravine, which could be used as the drainage system. There are disadvantages to this location, Zucchi considered how the presence of the theatre would affect the population of the surrounding area. Additionally, Zucchi considered the different terrains, which resulted in him considering this option. Due to the information presented, the Theater Committee choose option C, and bought the land for 31,000

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the Dollar sign, same sign, "$", as many currencies na ...

s. The property was on the outskirts of the city, the land was 20 blocks by 15 blocks and surrounded by ravines, ditches, dunes, and roads. At that time, the expansion of the outside walls outlined by José María Reyes, known as the New City (Ciudad Nueva), had not been completed.

Characteristics

The theatre is located in the Old City neighborhood, with the main entrance on the corner of Buenos Aires Street and Bartolomé Mitre. The building's facade has similarities to

Teatro Carlo Felice The Teatro Carlo Felice is the principal opera house of Genoa, Italy, used for performances of opera, ballet, orchestral music, and recitals. It is located on the side of Piazza De Ferrari. The hall is named for King Carlo Felice, and dates fr ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The theatre's concert hall has a slight elliptical shape, similar to the concert hall of Teatro de La Scala in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. The interior of the Solís theatre resembles the Italian Teatro Metastasio, near the city of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, Italy.

Image gallery

File:Araña en el interior del teatro Solís.jpg, Corridor File:2016 Columnas del Tatro solís de Montevideo.jpg, Columns of the facade File:Interior del Teatro Solís-3.JPG, Concert hall File:Interior del Teatro Solís-4.JPG, Ceiling File:Interior del Teatro Solís.JPG, Balconies File:Platea baja desde los palcos Palcos del Teatro Solís - panoramio.jpg, Seats

References

External links

Official theatre website
Retrieved 4 December 2013
Details (including photos) of the theatre
on viajes.elpais.com.uy Retrieved 4 December 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Solis Theatre Neoclassical architecture in Uruguay Buildings and structures in Montevideo Concert halls in Uruguay Theatres in Uruguay Theatres completed in 1856 Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo 1856 establishments in Uruguay