A journalist for the newspaper ‘El Pais’ in Spain made the following note related to the reopening of the Colon Theatre:
‘On the night of May 24, the doors of one of the most famous opera theatres in the world will open, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, which has been under restoration since 2001 and closed since 2006. The opening function, sponsored by the city government, will be held hours before the commemoration of the bicentennial of the independence of Argentina (at this point we should clarify that the Bicentennial Argentina’s Independence is in 2016, now there is celebrated the Bicentennial of the May Revolution, when was done the First Government made with Creole and Spanish as the king of Spain was arrested by Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother).
It’is to soon to name the actors and singers that will challenge again the fabulous acoustics of Colon, considered one of the three best in the world to reproduce the human voice, but the program will be short and will include an act of La bohème, of Puccini, and a picture of the ballet Swan Lake, by Tchaikovsky.
The restoration, which was shown yesterday to the foreign media, affected 60,000 square meters of the theater, the third basement to the third floor. The development of the works over the years has been subjected to all kinds of fights, arguments, separations and appointments. There are still discussing whether to open the theater on the 24th, instead of waiting for the official acts of the 25th, where the protagonist would be the President of the Republic, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and not the mayor of the city of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri.
Mateo Goretti, who coordinated the work between the areas of the Government of Buenos Aires, said that in the restoration were involved more than 1,000 workers and technicians, who have returned the theater its image and the colors it had in 1908, when it was opened.
The Colón Theatre, who had when it was closed a staff of more than 1,200 permanent workers, will now have about 850 employees, with large workshops that will keep the classic theater’s production. “It is impossible to manage this institution with less thatn 800 people” said Goretti, who recalled that large theaters like Covent Garden, London and La Scala, in Milan have around 900 employees.
Goretti said the theater hadn’t burned down due to “a miracle” as it had poor wiring conection, and explained that, in addition to installing new detection systems and fire control that cost more than five million euros, has been carried to change the entire installation of hot and cold air to ensure a uniform temperature and humidity, and a complete silence. “The restoration work has cost about $ 100 million, a big budget for this city,” he added.
One of the major features of the decoration of the Theatre is the foyer, a wonderful entrance to the building, with marble made by Verona and one of the largest areas of stucco in the world and the so-called Golden Hall on the first floor, which has recovered the splendor it had in 1910. The main hall with 2,500 seats and room for more than 300 spectators, standing, and several floors of boxes, looks splendid, with its mix of colors, cream, pink and maroon and the high lamp with 300 lights.
“The most important thing is that we are confident that the sound is exactly the same as it was when it was closed” assure Goretti. The restoration of the room had been made by the Spanish company San Jose, who was responsible for measuring the acoustic step by step.
According to the managers of the theater, the day after the official opening will start the classic season which is planning to offer 183 shows between operas and ballets.
0 comments:
Post a Comment