The Teatro Municipal, National Opera of Chile is the most important stage theatre and opera house in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

History and overview

The Chilean government ceded a significant parcel of land in downtown Santiago to the municipality, in 1848, and an 1853 decree by President Manuel Montt Torres provided for the construction of a municipal theater in his nation's capital, by then a rapidly growing city. French Chilean architect Claudio Brunet des Baines was commissioned for its design, and its construction was entrusted to another French Chilean, civil engineer Felipe Charme de l´Isle. Brunet des Baines created a French Neoclassical exterior for the theater, though his 1855 death left the supervision of the design to his countryman,

Lucien Hénault Lucien Ambroise Hénault ( Bazoches-en-Dunois , January 30, 1823 - Paris, January 30, 1908) was a French architect and academic, noted for building and designing several of the main buildings in Santiago de Chile in the mid- 19th century. Biogr ...

, and to the latter's assistant, Manuel Aldunate. The new team also benefited from a collaboration with Charles Garnier, the architect of the Opéra National de Paris. Santiago - Teatro Municipal (1872)

The Teatro Municipal was inaugurated on September 17, 1857, with the opera '' Ernani'' by Giuseppe Verdi, performed by an Italian company brought in specially for the occasion. At the time, the theatre held 1,800 spectators, and included distinctive interior details such as a teardrop crystal chandelier. A December 8, 1870, performance by opera diva Carlotta Patti was followed by a massive fire, which practically destroyed the building. A quick response by both the local government and Chilean high society resulted in the theatre's prompt reconstruction, designed by Henault and completed on July 16, 1873. Its reinauguration was accompanied by a performance of Verdi's '' La forza del destino''.

20th century

The theatre went through a devastating 1906 earthquake, suffering the loss of most of its interior, and a second, serious fire in 1927, although it recovered quickly on both occasions. Following these reconstructions, the theatre's capacity was reduced to 1,500 in the main hall; however, its interior became more opulent. It was further modernized in 1952 and 1959, and numerous cultural institutions were created for the theatre during that era. The ''Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra'' was established in 1955, the Cultural Corporation of Santiago was formed to administer the center in 1957, the ''Santiago Ballet'' in 1959, and the ''Teatro Municipal Chorus'', in 1962. The Teatro Municipal was declared a National Monument, in 1974. The theatre hosted the two editions of the OTI Festival in Chile: in 1978 and in 1986. Renowned Chilean pianist

Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and B ...

, who had left his homeland in 1941, returned for a visit in 1984, on which occasion the Claudio Arrau Salon, seating 250 spectators, was inaugurated. The stage curtain, installed in 1926, was replaced in 1995 with funds raised by offering donors a piece of the older curtain as a keepsake. The institution continues to maintain an active repertoire, and some of its most illustrious recent international guest performers and conductors have included: names in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

such as

Julio Bocca Julio Adrián Lojo Bocca (born March 6, 1967) is an Argentine ballet dancer. Bocca spent twenty years as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. From 2010 to 2018 he served as artistic director of the National Ballet of Uruguay, administe ...

, Mikhail Baryshnikov, the Bolshoi Ballet and the Mariinsky Ballet; pianists

, Valentina Igoshina and Arthur Rubinstein,

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович Ашкена́зи, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He ...

and Daniel Barenboim; violinists Mischa Elman,

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

, Yehudi Menuhin,

Gil Shaham Gil Shaham (Hebrew: גיל שחם; born February 19, 1971) is an American violinist of Israeli Jewish descent. Biography Gil Shaham was born in Urbana, Illinois, while his Israeli parents were on an academic fellowship at the University of Illino ...

and

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Poland, Stern came to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and ...

; conductors Zubin Mehta, Charles Dutoit, Kurt Masur and Pierre Boulez; and stage performers such as

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa,

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

, Vivien Leigh, Luciano Pavarotti,

Tito Schipa Tito Schipa (; born Raffaele Attilio Amedeo Schipa; 2 January 1889 in Lecce16 December 1965) was an Italian lyric tenor, considered the greatest tenore di grazia and one of the most popular tenors of the century. Biography Schipa was born as ...

and Renée Fleming.

References

Notes Sources
Teatro Municipal de Santiago: Reseña Histórica

External links

Teatro Municipal: website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Municipal Theater Of Santiago Theatre in Chile Concert halls in Chile Opera houses in Chile Music venues completed in 1857 Theatres completed in 1857 Buildings and structures in Santiago Neoclassical architecture in Chile Tourist attractions in Santiago, Chile 1857 establishments in Chile