Theatro Municipal (São Paulo)

Main façade of the Municipal Theatre of São Paulo.

Municipal Theatre of São Paulo ^[1] is a theatre in São Paulo, Brazil. It is regarded as one of the landmarks of the city, significant both for its architectural value as well as for its historical importance, having been the venue for the Week of Modern Art in 1922, which revolutionised the arts in Brazil. The building now houses the São Paulo Municipal Symphonic Orchestra, the Coral Lírico (Lyric Choir) and the City Ballet of São Paulo.

History

Design, construction and inauguration

The idea of building a representative theater for the city of São Paulo was inspired by its increasing importance on the international stage. From the beginning of 20th century it was inhabited by the Brazilian bourgeoisie, of which a great part was involved in the business of coffee farming. The city had also quite a large Italian population. So far, the city could rely only on the Teatro São Bento, which after a fire was no longer suitable for large foreign productions. That is why the paulistana aristocracy demanded a creation of a new theatre, with a structure similar to some of the best theatres in the world and suitable for staging large opera productions.

The place which was chosen for the construction was Morro do Cha', or Tea Hill, which had been the site of the new Teatro São José. Ramos de Azevedo was the engineer assigned to the construction. He was also helped by two Italian architects Cláudio Rossi and Domiziano Rossi. In 1903, construction began, and São Paulo gained one of the best venues in the world for the presentation of theatre productions, mainly operas. As it was customary in those days, the majority of the materials was imported from Europe, and the architectural reference was Teatro alla Scala of Milan. The construction lasted about 8 years. The first staged production was the opera “Hamlet” by Ambroise Thomas. The initial idea was to present an opera “Il Guarany”, but the company, directed by an Italian Titta Ruffo, a celebrated baritone voice of the time, did not want to count on putting works by Brazilian composers in its repertoire. Also other problems had happened before the opening night. The stage decorations had not arrived in Brazil in time which caused the postponement of the opening date. When the new date arrived on 12 September 1911, the result surpassed all the expectations of the public and the city's dominant class.

The first years

Between 1912 and 1926, the theatre presented 88 operas of 41 composers (Italian, French, Brazilian and German), in 270 performances. But perhaps the most important event in the history of the theatre in that period and in all of its existence was not an opera, but something that would infuriate many paulistanos at the time: the Week of Modern Art in 1922.

The Week of Modern Art

Between 11 February and 18 February the Municipal Theater hosted a Modernist event that has become known as "Semana de Arte Moderna"^[2] of 1922. During the seven days of events there was an exposition of the art of Brazilian Modernismo --a movement that sought to break away with strictly set patterns of European-influenced realistic paintings, drama, poetry, and music. In the evenings of 13, 15 and 17 February there were presentations of music, poetry and lectures on modernity in Brazil and the rest of the world. Modernism defied all the existing aesthetic and artistic values dominating painting, literature, poetry and other arts until that time. The “week” presented artists who were to become some of the most celebrated names in the Brazilian Modernist Movement, such as: Mário de Andrade--playwright and folklorist--, Oswald de Andrade --writer--, Tarsila do Amaral, Anita Malfatti and Menotti Del Picchia --painters. These artists formed the famous "Group of Five". Victor Brecheret --sculpturer--, Heitor Villa-Lobos --opera playwright—and Di Cavalcanti --painter—were other celebrities who took part in the Week.

Lateral façade of the Theatro Municipal decorated for the city's 450th anniversary.

Middle of 20th century

As the years went by, the theatre, which had been made almost exclusively for opera presentations, hosted also other artistic events, for example performances of dancers such as Anna Pavlova and Isadora Duncan. In the 1960s, under Mayor José Vicente Faria Lima, the building went through its first refurbishment because its walls had been repainted and the original project was deprived of its characteristics.

From the end of 20th century to the present day

In 1980s, the theatre went through further refurbishments, initiated by Mayor Jânio Quadros. Its main purpose was to restore the original works of Ramos de Azevedo. The external façade was restored with sandstone, originated in the same mine that had supplied material for the original building conception at the beginning of the century. The restoration was completed in 1991 under the Mayor Luiza Erundina. Now 100 years-old, the Municipal Theater of São Paulo is considered one of the most celebrated cultural venues in South America which has continually been hosting theatrical plays and operas by the greatest national and international playwrights and composers.

Famous personalities who appeared in the theatre

Renowned artists and celebrities who appeared in the theatre range from actors to ballerinas, coming from the national sphere and from various countries: Carla Fracci, Rudolph Nureyev, Titta Ruffo, Enrico Caruso, Maria Callas, Bidu Sayão, Tito Schipa, Arturo Toscanini, Procópio Ferreira, Cacilda Becker, Vivien Leigh, Raymond Jérôme, Mário de Andrade, Oswald de Andrade, Tarsila do Amaral, Anita Malfatti, Menotti Del Picchia, Victor Brecheret, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Di Cavalcanti, Lasar Segall, Márcia Haydée, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Paulo Szot.

See also

• Week of modern art of 1922
• Ramos de Azevedo

References

1. ^ The city council prefers to keep the archaic spelling, theatro with “th” as on the theatre's façade.
2. ^ The week of modern art, 1922 - Modernist art in Brazil. UNESCO Courier. Dec 1986.

External links

• The official page (in Portuguese)
• The history and pictures of the Theatro Municipal at "Theatres of Brazil" (in English)
• More on the history of the Theatro Municipal (in Portuguese)
• The article about the most recent renovation of the Theatro Municipal (in English)

Coordinates: 23°32′43″S 46°38′19″W / 23.54528°S 46.63861°W / -23.54528; -46.63861