El Círculo Theater
Encyclopedia
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in Rosario
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
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Overview
It is located near the historical center of the city, at the intersection of Laprida and Mendoza Streets. Planned as a lyric theater, it was developed as Teatro La Ópera by Emilio O. Schiffner, who purchased the society of the same name in 1889. Schiffner contracted German engineer George Goldammer, an acoustician who modified the original design, and the construction firm of Bianchi, Vila y Compañía. Following delays caused by the Panic of 1890Panic of 1890
The Panic of 1890 was an acute depression, although less serious than other panics of the era. It was precipitated by the near insolvency of Barings Bank in London. Barings, led by Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke, faced bankruptcy in November 1890 due mainly to excessive risk-taking on poor...
, as well as the earlier society's debts, the theatre was started in 1903. Italian artists, directed by Luggi Levoni, decorated both the interiors and exteriors; among their notable creations was the stage curtain designed by Giuseppe Carmignani with images from Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
similar to those found in the Teatro Regio di Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma is a famous 19th century opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy. The theatre was originally known as the Teatro Ducale....
. Teatro La Ópera was inaugurated on June 4, 1904, with the performance of Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
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The theater received many artists from around the world, including opera singers, ballets, and orchestras. Enrico Caruso performed there in 1915, and compared its acoustic quality to that of the Metropolitan Opera House
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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After this phase of splendor, the theater began to decay, and by 1940 its demolition was being actively considered by the city. The abandoned catacombs underneath the theatre were converted into the Museum of Sacred Art in 1940 to house the prolific work of sculptor Eduardo Barnes
Eduardo Barnes
Eduardo Amancio Barnes was an Argentine sculptor, and one of his country's preeminent creators of sacred art.-Life and work:...
. A cultural association known El Círculo de la Biblioteca (The Library Circle), who previously gathered at the Biblioteca Argentina
Biblioteca Argentina Dr. Juan Álvarez
The Biblioteca Argentina Dr. Juan Álvarez is a public library in Rosario, Argentina. It is the more important library in the city and in the province of Santa Fe....
and needed another place for their meetings, acquired the building in 1943, preserved it, and changed its name to the present one.
The theater has a capacity of 1,450 people, in five levels. It currently functions mostly as a cultural center. It was fully restored for its 100th anniversary in 2004, and served as a stage for the Third International Congress of the Spanish Language
Third International Congress of the Spanish Language
The Third International Congress of the Spanish Language was a cultural event that took place in Rosario, Argentina, on 17, 18 and 19 November 2004....
. The sidewalks and the two streets around the corner of the theater were turned into a sort of plaza with an early 20th century look, using old lampposts and replacing the usual asphalted surface with cobblestone
Cobblestone
Cobblestones are stones that were frequently used in the pavement of early streets. "Cobblestone" is derived from the very old English word "cob", which had a wide range of meanings, one of which was "rounded lump" with overtones of large size...
s.