Teatro Amazonas Opera House
- Much of the wealth of Manaus came from its days as the region's major port city during the rubber boom.
- That era was also known for its beautiful architecture - and a fine example of that Belle Epoque style of the late 1800s is Manaus' opera house, the Teatro Amazonas.
- The Teatro Amazonas was built between 1884 and 1896 and is a showcase of furnishings imported from far-off places like France and Italy, including nearly 200 Italian chandeliers and a painted curtain from Paris.
- The opera house's incredible dome is covered with 36,000 tiles painted in the colors of the Brazilian flag.
- The first ever performance in the Teatro Amazonas was the opera "La Gioconda" in January of 1897.
- When the rubber boom dwindled, the theater lost its wealthy patrons and actually shut down for 90 years.
- In
2001 the government invested millions in renovations, and today the
700-seat Teatro Amazonas is home to the Amazonas Philharmonic Orchestra
and an annual Amazonas Opera Festival.
- It
is on the San Sebastian Square (Praça São Sebastião) in downtown
Manaus, and visitors can either go on a guided tour of the theater
when it's not in use, or consult the schedule to check out one of the many
free performances.
