The Teatro Politeama 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 ...
, Portugal that opened in 1913.
History
Teatro Politeama was conceived by
Luís António Pereira. Buying land on what is now the Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, close to the ''
Coliseu dos Recreios
The Coliseu dos Recreios (also known as Coliseu de Lisboa) is a multi-purpose auditorium located in Lisbon, Portugal.
History
The main building was constructed within a metal lattice by Francisco Goulard between 1888 and 1890. While the facade ...
'', a large multipurpose auditorium that was inaugurated in 1890, Pereira laid the first stone of the new theatre on 12 May 1912, having recruited the prestigious architect
Miguel Ventura Terra
Miguel Ventura Terra (1866–1919) was a Portuguese architect.
Ventura Terra studied in Porto and later in the École de Beaux-Arts of Paris in the ''atelier'' of Victor Laloux. Upon his return to Portugal, he became a celebrated architect and ...
to draw up the plans for the theatre, which had an Art Deco style. José Passos Mesquita was responsible for the construction, while interior decoration was done by the sculptor Jorge Pereira and the painters Benvindo Seia and
Veloso Salgado
José Maria Veloso Salgado (2 April 1864 22 July 1945) was a Galicia (Spain), Galician-born Portugal, Portuguese artist. He is regarded as one of the country's foremost masters of Realism (art movement), Naturalism with many distinguished works in ...
. The theatre, with a capacity of 2264 spectators, was inaugurated on 6 December 1913 with a performance of the operetta ''Valsa de Amor'', starring
Cremilda de Oliveira and Sofia Santos. The first night was attended by the first elected Portuguese President,
Manuel de Arriaga
Manuel José de Arriaga Brum da Silveira e Peyrelongue (; 8 July 1840 – 5 March 1917) was a Portuguese lawyer, the first attorney-general and the first elected president of the First Portuguese Republic, following the deposition of King Ma ...
.
Adaptations
From 1914 the theatre was also showing films and it became solely a cinema in 1928, often showing the first screenings in Lisbon of famous films. In 1947 internal changes were made, involving increasing the number of seats by 50 and changing the position of the film projection booths. In 1955 it suffered a small fire, a fate to befall several other theatres in Lisbon. Further significant internal changes were made in 1973. The director and impresario,
Filipe La Féria Luís Filipe Valente Lá Féria Orta, known professionally as Filipe La Féria (born May 17, 1945 in Vila Nova de São Bento), is a Portuguese director, producer, and screenwriter for television and theatre.
Career
He began his theatrical activi ...
, remodelled the ''Teatro Politeama'' in 1991 and continues to promote performances at the theatre. Since 1995 the ''Politeama'' has not shown films and is now considered one of Lisbon's leading theatres.
Performers
Portuguese theatre companies, directors and actors that have performed at the theatre include Laura Alves
Laura Alves (8 September 1921 – 7 May 1986) was a Portuguese actor on stage, film and radio.
Early life
Laura Alves Magno was born in Lisbon, Portugal on 8 September 1921, the daughter of Mariana Alves and Celestino Magno. She attended the Mac ...
, Adelina Abranches
Adelina Abranches (15 August 1866 – 21 November 1945) was a Portuguese stage actress born in Lisbon. She was considered a child prodigy, performing roles on stage at the age of four. She is notable for her acting career in Rio de Janeiro.
Ov ...
and her daughter, Aura, Mariana Bandhold
Mariana Vasconcelos Bandhold, more popularly known by her stage name as Mariana Bandhold, is a Portuguese- American singer, actress, and songwriter from the Portuguese Riviera. She was a contestant in the second season of The Voice Portugal.
...
, Palmira Bastos
Palmira Bastos (1875–1967) was one of the best-known Portuguese stage actresses in the first half of the 20th century.
Early life
Maria da Conceição Martínez (Martins) de Sousa Bastos was born on 30 May 1875, in the municipality of Alenquer, ...
, Anabela Braz Pires
Anabela Braz Pires (born 22 September 1976 in Almada) is a Portuguese singer and musical theatre actress, best known in Portugal by her first name, Anabela.
Her career in music has spanned over decades, and she is well known for representing Port ...
, Maria Matos
Maria de Conceição de Matos Ferreira da Silva (29 September 1886 – 19 September 1952) was a Portuguese actress and theatre personality.
Career
Matos studied piano, singing and dramatic art at the Royal Conservatory of Lisbon, and for her fin ...
, Amélia Rey Colaço
Amélia Lafourcade Schmidt Rey Colaço de Robles Monteiro (2 March 1898–8 July 1990) was one of the leading Portuguese actors of the first half of the 20th century. She was also an important impresario.
Early years
Amélia Rey Colaço was born ...
, Amália Rodrigues
Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues GCSE, GCIH (23 July 1920 – 6 October 1999), better known as Amália Rodrigues () or popularly as Amália, was a Portuguese '' fadista'' (fado singer) and actress.
Known as the 'Rainha do Fado' ("Queen ...
, António Silva, Vasco Santana
Vasco Santana (full name: ''Vasco António Rodrigues Santana''; 28 January 1898 in Lisbon – 13 June 1958) was a Portuguese actor, one of the most renowned of the classical era of Portuguese cinema.
He already had a long career in theatre w ...
and João Villaret
João Henrique Pereira Villaret (born 10 May 1913 in Lisbon; died 21 January 1961) was a Portugal, Portuguese actor.
Filmography
*''O Pai Tirano'', by António Lopes Ribeiro (1941)
*''Inês de Castro'', by Leitão de Barros (1945)
*''Camõe ...
. The Gulbenkian Ballet performed at Teatro Politeama for several seasons and the first Portuguese performance of Holiday on Ice
Holiday on Ice is an ice show currently owned by Medusa Music Group GmbH, a subsidiary of CTS EVENTIM, Europe's largest ticket distributor, with its headquarters in Bremen, Germany.
History
Holiday on Ice originated in the United States in Decem ...
was also held there.[
]
See also
*Teatro Politeama, Palermo
The Politeama Theatre (Italian: Teatro Politeama, complete name Teatro Politeama Garibaldi) is a theatre of Palermo. It is located in the central Piazza Ruggero Settimo and represents the second most important theatre of the city after the Teatro ...
*List of theatres and auditoriums in Lisbon There follows a list of present and past theatres and auditoriums in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.
*'' Teatro ABC'' was the last of four theatres built in the Parque Mayer theatre district of Lisbon. It opened in January 1956 and closed in 1 ...
References
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Theatres in Lisbon
Art Deco architecture in Portugal