Teatro Municipal de Lima
The Municipal Theatre of Lima, inaugurated as the Teatro Forero, is a theatre and concert hall in the historic centre of Lima, Peru. It is home to the country's National Symphony Orchestra.
An open space next to the theatre known as the Plazuela de las Artes hosts open-air activities.
History
The Forero Theatre was built in 1915, replacing the demolished Olimpo Theatre, according to the design of Manuel María Forero Osorio, born in Tacna. The Renaissance/Baroque-style theatre was inaugurated on July 28, 1920 with the start of the season of the "Grand Italian Opera Company of Adolfo Bracale", who performed Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida. The theatre was named after its builder.Its façade displays three busts of the three most famous musicians in the history of classical music: Wagner, Beethoven and Liszt; The hall has neo-classical columns in the Ionic style and the spacious lobby is accessed through two imposing staircases, in the Louis XVI style, made of marble. The spectator room is in the Italian Renaissance style.
The newspaper El Comercio noted the following regarding the first night of the theater:
It was bought by the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima in 1929 and renamed to its current name through a Mayor's Resolution of June 15 of that year.
Fire and reconstruction
On August 2, 1998, during a show rehearsal, the theater was consumed by a raging fire that lasted two hours and destroyed part of its structure without causing definitive structural damage. The building remained unrestored for 12 years, opening only sporadically for special performances.The theater was eventually reconstructed following its original structural design, and it was expanded to include additional parking, anti-seismic technology and updated fireproofing. It was reinaugurated on October 11, 2010.