Gran Teatro de La Habana
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Former names |
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Location | Paseo del Prado, National Ballet of Cuba (1950-present) (1960-present)International Ballet Festival of Havana |
Gran Teatro de La Habana is a theater in
In the 1910s, the other historic Tacón Theatre was demolished to build this current Great Theatre of Havana.
History
Since its inception in 1838, Teatro Tacón[a] had occupied the north-western part of the site bounded by Paseo del Prado and Calle Consulado and Calles San Rafael and San José. Its auditorium hosted such European artists as Enrico Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt. During the first years of Cuban independence when thousands of immigrants arrived in Cuba from Spain, a new building addition was constructed around the concert hall of Teatro Tacón.[2] Originally known as the Centro Gallego de La Habana, the building is decorated with sculptures by Giuseppe Moretti representing benevolence, education, music and theatre.
Currently, the principal venue is the
Architecture
The Centro Gallego a
Sculpture
There is a group of four sculptures in white marble, part of a group of ninety-seven, by Giuseppe Moretti and Geneva Mercer[3][c] representing charity, education, music and theater.
A bronze sculpture was revealed in 2018 by the Cuban sculptor José Villa Soberón, a sculpture of Alicia Alonso in the lobby of the Gran Teatro. The sculpture is named Giselle after the romantic ballet that brought the legendary dancer to world fame. Giselle premiered in 1841 at the Paris Opera and is one of the main titles within the repertoire of the National Ballet of Cuba. It is therefore no coincidence that the artist chose this classic to represent the figure.[4]
Performance
During the 19th and 20th century, performances that took place on its stage include:
Gallery
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Teatro Tacón, Havana, 1900
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Illustration of a banquet held in the Teatro Tacón
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Gran Teatro de La Habana
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Concert hall of theGarcía Lorca.
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New stone facing over original Tacón Theatre. Calles of San Rafael and Consulado.
See also
- List of buildings in Havana
- Purdy and Henderson, Engineers
- Teatro Tacón
Notes
- ^ Jacobo de la Pezuela (1863). "Habana: Edificios de Recreo: Teatro de Tacon". Diccionario geografico, estadístico, historico, de la isla de Cuba (in Spanish). Vol. 3. Madrid: Mellado.
- ^ "The Baroque Revival, also known as Neo-Baroque, was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture and architectural sculptures which display important aspects of Baroque style, but are not of the original Baroque period. Elements of the Baroque architectural tradition were an essential part of the curriculum of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the pre-eminent school of architecture in the second half of the 19th century, and are integral to the Beaux-Arts architecture it engendered both in France and abroad. An ebullient sense of European imperialism encouraged an official architecture to reflect it in Britain and France, and in Germany and Italy the Baroque revival expressed pride in the new power of the unified state." Source: Baroque Revival architecture
- ^ "Circa 1911–14, Moretti and Geneva Mercer worked together on their greatest achievement, the completion of Moretti's ninety-seven sculptures for the Gran Teatro de La Habana." Wikipedia
References
- ^ "Home". balletcuba.cult.cu.
- ^ Estrada, Alfredo José (2007). Havana: An Autobiography. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 100–1.
- ^ "Geneva Mercer (1889-1984)". Retrieved 2020-01-03.
- ^ "The sculpture that pays homage to Alicia Alonso". Retrieved 2020-01-03.
Bibliography
Jacobo de la Pezuela (1863). "Habana: Edificios de Recreo: Teatro de Tacon". Diccionario geografico, estadístico, historico, de la isla de Cuba (in Spanish). Vol. 3. Madrid: Mellado.