The ''Teatro Maria Vitória'' is a theatre in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, capital of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. It is located in the theatre district of

Parque Mayer ''Parque Mayer'' is a 2018 Portuguese comedy drama film directed by António-Pedro Vasconcelos. The film stars Francisco Froes and Daniela Melchior in the main lead roles. The film was released on 6 December 2018. Cast * Francisco Froes as ...

. Dedicated primarily to revues, which are known in Portugal as ''Teatro de Revista'', the ''Teatro Maria Vitória'' opened on 1 July 1922 in the Parque Mayer (Mayer Park) district of Lisbon, which was at one time known as the “ Broadway” of Lisbon. The theatre was named in honour of a fado singer, Maria Vitória, who had died at a young age in 1915. It started life as a wooden building. The playwrights, Ernesto Rodrigues,

Félix Bermudes Félix Bermudes (4 July 1874 – 5 January 1960) was a Portuguese sports shooter. He competed in the team free rifle event at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was also a significant author and playwright. In 1916, Bermudes became the 10th pres ...

and João Bastos, played an important role in the theatre's early performances, working under the pseudonym of the “Troianos”. It was the first of the four theatres in the area, the others being the ''

Teatro Variedades The Teatro Variedades was a famous Colosseum in the city of Madrid, Spain, in the 19th century. Erected in 1847, the theater was located at 40 Magdalena Street. It was known once as one of the most entertaining theatres for the not-so-demanding g ...

'' and the ''

Teatro Capitólio The Teatro Capitólio, officially called Cineteatro Capitólio - Teatro Raul Solnado, is located in Parque Mayer, in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened in 1931. Because of its early modernist design it has been recognized as the first building of ...

'', which both still exist, and the ''

Teatro ABC The ''Teatro ABC'' was the last of four theatres built in the Parque Mayer theatre district of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. It opened in January 1956 and closed in 1995. Located on land adjacent to the '' Teatro Maria Vitória'' that had ...

'', which was demolished in 2015. Teatro Maria Vitória suffered a fire on 10 May 1986, which destroyed the entire building and contents, forcing the performing company to temporarily transfer to the '' Teatro Maria Matos''. In 1940, the fado singer Amália Rodrigues made her debut as an actress at the ''Maria Vitória''. Shows also featured international attractions, such as the Brazilian

Bibi Ferreira Abigail Izquierdo Ferreira (1 June 1922 – 13 February 2019), known as Bibi Ferreira, was a Brazilian actress, singer, and director. In a career spanning more than 75 years, Ferreira directed and performed in numerous theatrical productions and ...

, who drew large crowds to the theatre. The 1960s were particularly fruitful, with the Portuguese actor

Raul Solnado Raul Augusto de Almeida Solnado (19 October 1929 - 8 August 2009) was a popular Portuguese actor and comedian. He was born in Lisbon's Madragoa neighborhood, and first appeared on stage there. In his long career, he developed many comic pieces ...

starring in two shows that would mark his career: ''A guerra de 1908'' (The war of 1908) and ''História da minha vida'' (The story of my life). After the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

of 25 April 1974, which overthrew the '' Estado Novo'' dictatorship, the theatre quickly changed the name of the revue being performed from "See, listen ... and shut up" to "See, hear ... and speak", assuming a turning point had been reached in the creative freedom and expression for theatrical writers. For much of its life the theatre has been used by the impresario, Hélder Freire Costa, who celebrated 50 years of promoting shows at the ''Maria Vitória'' in 2014. It was Costa who, together with Vasco Morgado Júnior, was responsible for rebuilding the theatre after the 1986 fire, with the reopening taking place in 1990. Until the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, when it closed its doors temporarily in 2020, the Maria Vitória was the only theatre in Lisbon still presenting revues on a regular basis. This is despite the fact that Costa has stated that it is too small to be profitable for revues that require a large cast.

References

{{stack, {{Portal, Portugal Theatres in Lisbon Theatres completed in 1922

See also

References