Theatro Municipal

Av: Presidente Vargas, Rio de Janeiro, 17900-000
Theatro Municipal Theatro Municipal is one of the popular Monument located in Av: Presidente Vargas ,Rio de Janeiro listed under Orchestra in Rio de Janeiro ,

Contact Details & Working Hours

More about Theatro Municipal

The Municipal Theatre is located in Cinelândia in the city center of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Built in the beginning of the twentieth century, it is considered to be one of the most beautiful and important theatres in the country.The building is designed in an eclectic style, inspired by the Paris Opéra of Charles Garnier. The outside walls are inscribed with the names of classic Eurocentric & Brazilian artists. It is located near the National Library and the National Fine Arts Museum, overlooking the spacious Cinelândia Square.HistoryIn the second half of nineteenth century, theatrical activity was very intense in Rio de Janeiro, then capital of the country. Still, its two theaters, the Lyric and St. Peter, were criticized for their facilities, either by the public or by the companies that worked in them.After the Proclamation of the Republic (1889), in 1894 playwright Arthur Azevedo launched a campaign for the building of a new theater to host a local company, to be created along the lines of the Comédie Française. However, in those hectic days, the campaign resulted in only one Municipal Law, which ordered the construction of the Municipal Theater. This law was not enforced, despite the existence of a levy to finance the work. Thus, that the new tax revenue was never used for the construction of the theater.It was not built until the beginning of the 20th century and it came to represent the new republican regime and a new era to the elegant capital of Brazil. At the time, then-Mayor Pereira Passos launched a major upgrade of the city center by opening in 1903 the Central Avenue (Now Avenida Rio Branco), shaped after the boulevards of Paris and flanked by magnificent examples of eclectic architecture. Hence arose the opera venue, brainchild of Francisco de Oliveira Passos (Son of then mayor Francisco Pereira Passos) with the cooperation of Albert Guilbert and design inspired by the Paris Opera. Building began in 1905 on a foundation of 1,180 wood poles rooted in groundwater. To decorate the building, the most important Brazilian painters and sculptors of the time were summoned, such as Eliseu Visconti, Rodolfo Amoedo and the Bernardelli brothers. European artisans were also recruited to work on stained glasses and mosaic tiles.

Map of Theatro Municipal