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Teatro Colon Review

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Teatro Colón

Address: Main entrance: Libertad between Tucumán and Viamonte; Box office:, Pasaje Toscanini 1180, Microcentro, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Phone: 11/4378-7100 tickets; 11/4378-7132 tours
www.teatrocolon.org.ar

Colón Theater

Category: Arts/Performance Venues
Location: El Centro

Write a review | Avg. member rating: 4.8/5

Fodor's Review:

Its magnitude, magnificent acoustics, and opulence (grander than Milan's La Scala) position the Teatro Colón (Colón Theater) among the world's top five operas. An ever-changing stream of imported talent bolsters the well-regarded local lyric and ballet companies. After an eventful 18-year building process involving the death of one architect and the murder of another, the ornate Italianate structure was finally inaugurated in 1908 with Verdi's Aida. It has hosted the likes of Maria Callas, Richard Strauss, Arturo Toscanini, Igor Stravinsky, Enrico Caruso, and Luciano Pavarotti, who has said that the Colón has only one flaw: the acoustics are so good, every mistake can be heard.

The theater's sumptuous building materials—three kinds of Italian marble, French stained glass, and Venetian mosaics—were imported from Europe to create large-scale lavishness. The seven-tier main theater is breathtaking in size, and has a grand central chandelier with 700 lights to illuminate the 3,000 mere mortals in its red-velvet seats.

The theater is currently dark owing to restoration work that's slated to be finished in 2008, when the theater will celebrate its centennial. Opera, ballet, and other performances are being held in theaters throughout the city until then.

Metro: D to Tribunales

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Member Reviews and Ratings

Reviewed by PatiofCA from La Jolla, CA on 1/8/07
We just happened to pick the last day that the theatre was open, October 2006. It was packed with Santiagans and tourists wanting to see the old theater. What a wonderful tour of the theatre and the back areas. We were told that the final performance was sold out, but I went to the ticket booth anyway. The last show was only about 4 hours later and they had just opened some of the boxes...We ended up sitting in the box next to the Presidential Box with 4 other tourists who were in line behind us. So never give up and we can't wait until it reopens. I would have given it a 5 for ease, but it was mobbed the day we went because of the closing.