Teatro Guimerá is a theatre located in

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its admi ...

, the capital city of the island of Tenerife in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

( Spain). Built in 1849, it is the oldest theater in the Canary Islands. In 1923 it was named after the writer, poet and playwright Ángel Guimerá, born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

History

The theater was built on the site previously occupied by the ''Saint Dominic Convent'' or ''Our Lady of Consolation'' belonging to the Dominican Order and one of the two convents existing in the city. The Spanish confiscation forced the closure of this convent until it was demolished. On the ruins of this convent the future Guimerá Theater would be constructed in a similar way to the Theater of the Lyceum of Barcelona, which was also built on a convent. The theatre was built in 1849 by the architect Manuel de Oráa in classical-romance style. It underwent important works of modification in 1911, mainly of the interior of the building, headed by

Antonio Pintor Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

. Between 1989 and 1991 works of restoration and modernisation were done by the architect

Carlos Schwartz Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

. Further improvements were made in 2010 under supervision of

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. The theater has been a venue for opera since 1861, when Verdi's ''

Ernani ''Ernani'' is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1830 play ''Hernani (drama), Hernani'' by Victor Hugo. Verdi was commissioned by the Teatro La Fenice in V ...

'' was presented. Operas were usually performed in October and November, with three or four operas given one performance each, usually with an international cast accompanied by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife. Both orchestra concerts and operas are now performed at the Auditorio de Tenerife, which opened in 2003.

References

External links

Official Website of Guimerá Theatre
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Santa Cruz de Tenerife Canarian culture Theatres in Spain Tourist attractions in Tenerife Companies of the Canary Islands Theatres completed in 1849