The Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (National Theater of Costa Rica) is a theatre located in the central section of San José, Costa Rica. Construction began in 1891, and it opened to the public on October 21, 1897 with a performance of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust .
The Teatro Nacional is the maximum representation of economical stability of the nation, in a period of time when coffee exports were a round success. The use of the theatre is limited to high quality performances, undergoing a very selective process prior to admission for performing. The building is considered the finest historical building in the capital and is known for its exquisite interior with lavish furnishings.T
=History
The construction of the national theatre was given at the end of the 19th century, when San Jose's population was only around 19,000 people. A lot of private theatres were given, but they come and go without any real structure. The only real theatre was the "Mora" Theatre ( Teatro Mora , also called Municipal Theatre, or Teatro Municipal ), that fulfils the necessity of a theatre for many years until it was abandoned and destroyed by an earthquake.
The President of Costa Rica at the time, José Joaquín Rodríguez, to provide the nation with a theatre fit of that name, decided to put a tax to the coffee, the principal export product, to finance the project.
The construction started with a lot of problems because there were few people back then that could understand the schematics of the construction; therefore, a lot of mistakes were made. Later one coffee planter begged the government to remove the exportation tax on their product and to put it to rice and beans (one of the principals alimentary products back then) .
The construction errors were fixed, thanks to the fact that an Italian engineer came to take over the leading of the construction. It took seven years to finish the theatre.
The inauguration was on October 21 , 1897 , with the performance of Faust
Currently
The theatre is a tourist attraction as well as having performances several times a week.
The front of the theatre features statues of Calderón de la Barca and Ludwig van Beethoven. The inside of the theatre features the ceiling mural Allegory of Coffee and Bananas by Milanese artist Aleardo Villa, which is featured on the five colón bill.
Performances by the National Symphonic Orchestra (NSO) take place at the theatre during NSO's Regular Season, and include both Costa Rican and foreign composers.
References
- ^ Baker, C.P. (2005). Costa Rica . Dorling Kindersley Eye Witness Travel Guides. pp. 60.
External links
- Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (Official Site, includes a virtual tour, Spanish)
Coordinates: 9°55′59.28″N 84°04′37.26″W / 9.9331333°N 84.0770167°W / 9.9331333;
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