Theatro Municipal (São Paulo)

The "Noble Room"

The Great Hall

The idea of building a representative theatre for the city of São Paulo was inspired by the increasing importance of the city on the international cultural scene. São Paulo was inhabited by the Brazilian bourgeoisie from the beginning of 20th century; a group, in great part, involved in coffee farming. The city also had significant large Italian population, an immigrant community with both stage artists and experience with theater construction. Residents of São Paulo initially could only rely on the Teatro São José, which suffered a fire and was no longer suitable for large foreign productions. There were more modest theatres such as the Polythéama, the Minerva, and the Apolo. The aristocrats of the São Paulo demanded the 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 Chá, 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 Palais Garnier of Paris.[2] 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.

First page of article from O Estado de S. Paulo about the Theatro Municipal inauguration, September 12, 1911

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.

Between 11 February and 18 February (1922) the Municipal Theatre hosted a Modernist event that has become known as "Semana de Arte Moderna"[3] 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—a writer, musician and folklorist--, Oswald de Andrade—a writer--, Tarsila do Amaral, Anita Malfatti and Menotti Del Picchia—all three painters. These artists formed the famous "Group of Five". Victor Brecheret—sculptor—Heitor Villa-Lobos—composer—and Di Cavalcanti—painter—were other celebrities who took part in the Week.

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.

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 Theatre 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. The Municipal Theatre of São Paulo, actually has currently the biggest and best lyric production in South America.