Iconic Sites, Argentina

As someone who loves live performances of any kind from orchestra to rock music, I had to check out Teatro Colon when I was in Buenos Aires. Classified by National Geographic as one of the top ten opera houses in the world, it actually feels much older than it is when you are in the main hall. As well as attending two performances, I took a tour of the opera to learn more about this beautiful building.  The tour guide was very proud to report that the Swiss acoustics expert, Leo Beranek, has rated the Teatro Colon as the best in the world for opera, and second best for concerts. That is some accolade! Was it worth the visit?

History

Once it was decided to close the first opera house down, and build a second one outside the (then) city, construction began on the current opera house in 1889.  It was opened in 1908 with Verdi’s opera, Aida, and completely finished by 1910.

Three architects designed it. The first was Italian, Francesco Tamburini, who died on his 44th birthday, just two years into the twenty year construction. The second, Victor Meano, was also Italian but was murdered on his 44th birthday after, apparently, having found his wife in bed with another Italian! These first two architects included many renaissance and baroque designs, hence making many parts of the building feel older than it is.

The final architect to work on the building was the Belgian, Jules Dormal, who was trained in France. He designed the second level of the opera house in the French style and thus it seems quite different from the rest of the building. The style and design of this fabulous opera house can best be described as eclectic!

The building was named after Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, as he symbolised Argentina taking on much more of a European influence.

The Stats!

The Teatro Colon hosts three types of performances – opera, ballet and concerts. Normally 8 operas, 5 ballets and more then 30 concerts are performed each season.

It has 2487 seats, slightly more than the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in London. Apparently it has standing room for 1000 but I am not sure where that would be!

1500 people work in the theatre every day. It takes a village to be sure!

I mentioned before that this opera house was determined as the best acoustically according to a Swiss assessor of such things. It was interesting to note how this was arrived at.  Apparently he looks at:

  • The shape of the opera
  • The balance of soft and porous materials (there was lots of velvet in the theatre)
  • The resonance (the Teatro Colon has a small grate under each chair in the theatre leading down to a huge resonance chamber). The first time I was there to see a performance, I thought this grate was for AC!!!!

The main theatre

Other Aspects of the Building

The three floors above ground house the stalls and the balconies. The three floors below ground are where props and costumes are made in the opera’s workshops. Once they have been used they are stored in Colon Fabrica in La Boca about 45 mins away. (I visited this space and you can read about it here)

The marble in the foyer, staircases and columns comes from all over the world.  White marble from Carrara, Italy, pink from Portugal, yellow from Sienna, Italy, beige from Vienna and the individual venetian mosaic tiling on the floor comes from England.

The stained glass windows in the ceilings were all made in Paris.

Parisian Stained Glass – Stunning!
With busts of many of the most important opera composers around the second floor hall, the building is a homage to these composers. From Beethoven to Bizet, they are all here. Fun fact: Mozart wrote his first opera at 12 and wrote more than 600 musical works in his life time, including 22 operas!
Beethoven among the many

The Golden Hall was added by Jules Dormal, the third architect, in French baroque style. The ceiling is decorated in 22 carat gold. This hall is the permanent home of the Buenos Aires chamber orchestra.

The Golden Hall is the permanent home of the Chamber Orchestra.

Interesting Fact: Until the 1940’s widows, grieving for two years, were not allowed to be seen in the opera. So boxes with grates were built under the seats to both sides of the theatre. The widows would enter in here after the performance had started and leave prior to its conclusion so as not to be seen.

The Widow’s boxes

The Main Chandelier

The painting currently on the dome around the chandelier, the cupola, was painted in 1966 by Argentinian artist Raul Soldi. Apparently there is space for a choir or orchestra of up to 15 people to sit above the chandelier in the ceiling. This was to simulate voices or music coming from heaven. You would not want to be afraid of heights!

It takes five hours to lower the chandelier to clean or replace broken bulbs and another five hours to raise it again.

The Chandelier flanked by Raul Soldi’s work

So was it worth the visit?  I actually found myself at Teatro Colon three times while in Buenos Aires this trip. Twice for performances – a concert with a small orchestra of 20 and two opera singers (Samuel Marino and Terry Way), and a second concert where the Bariloche Orchestra performed. I enjoyed both very much. The third time was to understand more about the building when I joined an organised tour which was quite informative. So YES! well worth the time and if you enjoy exquisite music, make a point of visiting Teatro Colon when you are next in Buenos Aires.

Tickets!

Useful Info.

  • I found the website difficult to navigate to buy tickets, so suggest going to the ticket box at the opera during office hours to find out what is on and to book all tickets including the tour.
  • Apparently, once a month they stream one show live via their website (https://teatrocolon.org.ar/en/live). I will be checking that out but have enjoyed being there in person.
  • Tickets for the tour were ARS 6000 and the concerts I went to ARS 5900 (May 2023).
  • Closest Subte subway station is Tribunales-Teatro Colon. Buses also stop just a short walk away.

The Year the Opera Opened