Teatro De La Cruz
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The Teatro de la Cruz was, for nearly 200 years, the principal theater for comedy in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. Founded in 1584 by the Hermandad de la Soledad, it quickly became the premier venue of its time for Spanish comedy.


History

In 1743, the theater underwent extensive renovations under the direction of architect
Pedro de Ribera Pedro de Ribera (Madrid 4 August 1681 - Madrid, 1742) was a Spanish architect of the Baroque period. Biography Ribera worked almost exclusively in Madrid during the first half of the 18th century. He was a disciple of José Benito de Churrigue ...
, who transformed it into a modern theater with seating for 1,500 spectators. During the nineteenth century, Ribera's architectural style, particularly as embodied by the Teatro de la Cruz, faced intense official criticism. A
Royal Order In Belgium, a royal decree (RD) or royal order ( in Dutch, arrêté royal in French, or königlicher Erlass in German) is a federal government decree implementing legislation, or exercising powers the legislature has delegated to the crown as se ...
in 1849 declared the theater a "shame of art" and ordered its immediate demolition. However, the theater continued to operate briefly, reopening in 1850, only to be closed again between 1852 and 1857. It was finally demolished in 1859, and today, its existence is commemorated by a small plaque located at the intersection of
Espoz y Mina Francisco Espoz y Mina IlundáinReferred to in the Spanish literature, and by Charles Oman, Oman (Oman 1908, pp. 116, 286), by his first surname, Espoz y Mina, or simply Espoz (Cassinello ''op. cit.'') to distinguish him from his nephew, Martí ...
and Calle de la Cruz in
central Madrid Centro (, "Centre") is a Districts of Madrid, district of Madrid, Spain. It is approximately in size. It has a population of 149,718 people and a population density of . It roughly corresponds to the bulk of the housing formerly enclosed by the ...
. Several major works premiered on its stage, including ''El barón'' (1803), ''La mojigata'' (1804), and '' El sí de las niñas'' (1806) by Leandro Fernandez de Moratin, and ''
Don Juan Tenorio ''Don Juan Tenorio: Drama religioso-fantástico en dos partes'' (Don Juan Tenorio: Religious-Fantasy Drama in Two Parts) is a Play (theatre), play written by José Zorrilla and produced in 1844. It is the most romantic of the two principal Span ...
'' (1844) by José Zorrilla.


External links


Infos on "Madrid Histórico"


{{Coord missing, Spain Entertainment venues in Madrid Former theatres in Madrid Corral de comedias