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200 years and three theatres
The history of the Teatro Real gets under way in 1717. It is an old, rich history full of light and shade. In its two centuries of existence the building has been a dance hall, a military barracks, a gunpowder magazine, the seat of the House of Representatives, an opera theatre and a concert hall. There was even a silent stretch of 41 years of inactivity.
In 1850 Queen Isabel II of Spain inaugurated the Teatro Real in Madrid. ‘The Favourite’ by Donizetti, sung by Marietta Alboni was the show of the opening night. When the Queen and her consort entered the auditorium, strips of coloured paper bearing literary snippets rained down on them to the tune of the Spanish National Anthem (the Royal March).
A poster advertising the first inaugural concert of the Teatro Real
The contralto Marietta Alboni, one of the great divas of her time, would be instrumental in which opera would pass into history. Alboni chose ‘The Favourite’, the opera that inaugurated the Teatro Real on 19 November 1850. Tickets for that evening cost 24 Spanish reales and reached a resale value of 320 reales.
1705
THE ORIGIN: CAÑOS DEL PERAL THEATRE
This year marks the origins of the Teatro Real. A theatre company for the King received permission to act for the public and charge entrance fees. They based themselves in a public laundry in Caños del Peral (today Plaza de Isabel II) in Madrid. As the years passed, the laundry was converted into a real theatre that over the next century would come to be known as The Opera House. In 1817, the theatre was in irreversible decline. At that point King Fernando VII decided that a new opera theatre should be remodeled along with the Plaza de Oriente.
Listen to the narrators of Radio Clásica, from RNE, talk about what is considered a historic day. This is how the opening of the Theatre newly as a concert hall after 41 years of closure was experienced.
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Enjoy the extraordinary concert that included the participation of ORTVE under the direction of García Asensio. 'Daphnis and Cloe', Suite No. 2, by Maurice Ravel is playing.
October 11, 1997. A new historical date on which RNE broadcast the event live through Radio Clásica (RNE) with the commentary from Rafael Taibo, Rafael Banús and José Luis Pérez de Arteaga. A mixed program for the occasion, a tribute to Manuel de Falla with the ballet 'The Three-Cornered Hat' and the opera 'La vida breve'.
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WHY IS IT SHAPED LIKE A COFFIN?
First came the design for a round plaza, then the design for a theatre within that plaza. Architect Antonio López Aguado had to incorporate an opera theatre in the plans for a circular plaza full of columns, which was planned as the Plaza de Oriente in 1817. As the work was by royal decree he was obliged to make the best use possible of the spaces that were left on the site of the Caños del Peral. The final result was an elongated opera theatre, with a hexagonal ground plan and no wings. From the sky it looks like a coffin.