The São Pedro Theatre (''Theatro São Pedro'' in Portuguese) is the oldest

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

in the city of

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

, the state capital of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

History

Founded in 1858, the theatre quickly became an artistic, social, and political center in the country. In the 1970s it was realised that the theatre was in need of a major renovation. Eva Sopher who had run many artistic endeavours in Porto Alegre for the organisation PROARTE was chosen by the government to lead the project. The renovation was to take nine years and became Soper's life's work. The theatre reopened in 1984. Soper was to run the theatre for 41 years (the rest of her life). In 1991 there was a challenge to her leadership but admirers including the Brazilian director and actor gathered to hold hands around the theatre to show their support. Further extensions to the theatre's facilities had been started by Soper with a budget of R$20m but the estimated costs rose to R$50m. Although still not complete in 2018 the project had delivered a car park, rooms for administration, a new restaurant and a music salon. Soper died in 2018.

José Ivo Sartori José Ivo Sartori (born 25 February 1948) is a Brazilian politician. He is a former city councilor and former mayor of Caxias do Sul and belongs to PMDB. He is married to Maria Helena Sartori, with whom he has two sons, Marcos and Carolina. He w ...

who was

Governor of Rio Grande do Sul The governor of Rio Grande do Sul is the head of government of the state's Executive (government), executive branch, assisted by his secretaries, whom he freely chooses. Elected by absolute Majority rule, majority in universal suffrage, together ...

declared three days of mourning. An 18,000 square metre community complex was named after Eva Soper.

References

External links

Official Website (in Portuguese)
Buildings and structures in Porto Alegre Theatres in Brazil Tourist attractions in Porto Alegre National heritage sites of Rio Grande do Sul {{Brazil-theat-struct-stub