On with the Show! a Celebration of the 100Th Anniversary and Restoration of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina
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ON WITH THE SHOW! A CELEBRATION OF THE 100th ANNIVERSARY AND RESTORATION OF THE TEATRO COLÓN IN BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA ¡LA FUNCIÓN CONTINÚA! CELEBRACIÓN DEL 100mo. ANIVERSARIO Y RESTAURACIÓN DEL TEATRO COLÓN EN BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK CULTURAL CENTER CENTRO CULTURAL DEL BANCO INTERAMERICANO DE DESARROLLO The Inter-American Development Bank Luis Alberto Moreno President Daniel M. Zelikow Executive Vice President Otaviano Canuto Vice President for Countries Santiago Levi Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge Manuel Rapoport Vice President for Finance and Administration Steven J. Puig Vice President for Private Sector and Non-Sovereign Guaranteed Operations Pablo Halpern External Relations Advisor The Cultural Center Félix Ángel General Coordinator and Curator Soledad Guerra Assistant General Coordinator Anne Vena Inter-American Concert, Lecture and Film Series Coordinator Elba Agusti Cultural Development Program Coordinator Debra Corrie IDB Art Collection Management and Conservation Assistant Cataloging-in-Publication data provided by the Inter-American Development Bank Felipe Herrera Library On with the show! : a celebration of the 100th anniversary and restoration of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina = ¡La función continua!: celebración del 100mo. aniversario y restauración del Teatro Colón en Buenos Aires, Argentina. p. cm. ISBN: 159782075X 9781597820752 “An exhibition organized by the IDB Cultural Center in collaboration with the Argentine officials in charge of the welfare and restoration of this building”--Preamble. Catalogue of an exhibition, held “May 21 to August 1, 2008” at the IDB Cultural Center. “Félix Angel: curator of the exhibition”—[p. 3]. “José María Lentino, Luciano Marra de la Fuente, and Fabián Persic, essay and research contributors”—[p. 3]. “Larry Hanlon and Lilia Mosconi, English and Spanish translators”—[p. 3]. “Steven B. Kennedy and Rolando Trozzi, English and Spanish editors”—[p. 3]. Text in English and Spanish. 1. Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires, Argentina)—Conservation and restoration—Exhibitions—Catalogs. 2. Theater architecture—Conservation and restoration—Argentina—Buenos Aires—Exhibitions—Catalogs. 2. Theaters—Argentina--Buenos Aires—History—Exhibitions—Catalogs. I. Angel, Félix. II. Inter-American Development Bank. III. IDB Cultural Center. IV. Added title. PN2452.B82 O68 2008 792.098211 E82------dc22 May 21 to August 1, 2008 Table of Contents Preamble 3 Overture 7 ACT I Art and Politics at The Teatro Colón 9 ACT II Argentina and The Teatro Colón 12 INTERMISSION Great Artists and Great Performances at The Teatro Colón 14 Beyond Opera: Some Extraordinary Events at The Teatro Colón 24 ACT III The Current Teatro Colón 25 CODA The Next 100 years 26 A MASTER PLAN FOR THE RESTORATION AND TECHNICAL UPGRADING OF THE TEATRO COLÓN The Building and Its History 28 The Master Plan Approach 29 Objectives, Processes and Results 32 A Breakdown of The Restoration Project By Task, Budget, Status and Source of Financing 38 List of Works 80 Preamble The Teatro Colón is one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world Immediately after its inauguration in 1908, the theater was transformed into a cultural icon for the City of Buenos Aires, attracting the interest of the most demanding world figures in the field of opera and musical performing arts On May 25th of this year, 2008, the Teatro Colón will celebrate its 100th anniver- sary The IDB joins this joyful occasion with an exhibition organized by the IDB Cultural Center in collaboration with the Argentine officials in charge of the welfare and restoration of this building The process of upgrading the Teatro Colón infrastructure began eight years ago with the design and unveiling of a Master Plan Included will be the completion of several of its urban components left partially unfinished, and the restoration of the many architectural features and artistic treasures, both inside and out, while maintaining the integrity and character of the structure; this process is expected to be fully completed by 2012 The Inter-American Development Bank has been an important partner in this effort of preparing the theater to actively continue with its role as beacon of Argentine culture for at least another one hundred years, not to mention the economic and social implications a vibrant restored opera house will have for the City of Buenos Aires —nationally and in- ternationally, and for the country at large To that effect, the IDB has provided significant financing, helping the city authorities attempt and succeed in such an extraordinary under- taking, and many of the results can be seen in this exhibition It is with great pride that the Inter-American Development Bank welcomes the 100th Anniversary of the Teatro Colón with a series of cultural events of its own, and in passing, we pay tribute to Argentina and to all those individuals, artists and people alike who have contributed to make the Teatro Colón the paradigm of Argentine culture, the kind any country in the world would be proud to have Luis Alberto Moreno President Inter-American Development Bank Washington, D C 3 INDICE Preámbulo 5 Obertura 43 ACTO I Teatro Colón: arte y política 45 ACTO II El Teatro Colón y la Argentina 49 INTERMEDIO Figuras representativas y actuaciones de los grandes artistas en el Teatro Colón 51 Mas allá de la opera: eventos extraordinarios en el Teatro Colón 61 ACTO III El actual Teatro Colón 62 CODA Los próximos cien años 63 MASTER PLAN TEATRO COLÓN DE PUESTA EN VALOR Y ACTUALIZACIÓN TECNOLÓGICA El edificio y su historia 65 Estructura del Master Plan 68 Objetivos, procesos y resultados 69 El trabajo y la inversión realizados en estos años da como resultado las siguientes obras 77 4 Preámbulo El Teatro Colón, uno de los escenarios operáticos más prestigiosos del mundo, se inauguró en 1908 Inmediatamente después, el teatro se transformó en un ícono cultural para la ciu- dad de Buenos Aires, que atrajo el interés de las figuras internacionales más exigentes en el campo de la ópera y las artes interpretativas El 25 de mayo del corriente año (2008), el Teatro Colón celebrará su primer Centenario El BID se sumará al feliz acontecimiento con una exposición organizada por su Centro Cultural, en colaboración con los funcionarios argentinos que se ocupan actualmente de la protección y la restauración del edificio El mejoramiento estructural del Teatro Colón comenzó hace ocho años con la con- cepción y el develamiento de un Plan Maestro El proyecto incluye la finalización de varios componentes urbanos del teatro que quedaron parcialmente incompletos y la restauración de sus numerosos detalles arquitectónicos y tesoros artísticos, tanto interiores como exterio- res, sin descuidar por ello la integridad y el carácter de la estructura edilicia Se estima que las obras habrán alcanzado su culminación en el año 2012 El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo ha sido un importante socio en la iniciativa de acondicionar el Teatro Colón para que continúe desempeñando activamente su papel de baluarte de la cultura argentina durante al menos cien años más, por no mencionar las beneficiosas implicaciones económicas y sociales que la restauración de este vibrante teatro de ópera tendrá para la ciudad de Buenos Aires en el ámbito nacional e internacional, y para el país en su totalidad A tal efecto, el BID ha aportado un financiamiento de proporciones significativas que ayudó a las autoridades municipales a emprender con éxito tan extraordi- naria tarea, muchos de cuyos resultados podrán apreciarse en la exposición No es sino con inmenso orgullo que el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo saluda el Centenario del Teatro Colón a través de diversos eventos culturales en Washington concebi- dos especialmente para la ocasión, además de rendir tributo a la Argentina y a todas aquellas personas que con su arte u otras contribuciones han hecho del Teatro Colón un paradigma de la cultura argentina y una institución que cualquier país del mundo se enorgullecería de incluir entre sus posesiones Luis Alberto Moreno Presidente Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo Washington, D.C. 5 Interior view from the stage 6 Overture Horacio Sanguinetti General Manager, Teatro Colón Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentina has had a passion for opera for a very long time Classical music played in Buenos Aires and cities throughout the country in the colonial era Immigrants from Italy, Germany, and Spain brought with them to the New World their passion for music, with the result that, in 1857, the first Teatro Colón was dedicated exclusively to opera in Buenos Aires The original theater was demol- ished just 30 years later and a larger theater was planed and reestablished in 1908 at a new site in the city Overseen by the ar- chitects Francisco Tamburini, Víctor Meano, and Jules Dormal, the construction of the new theater took almost two decades from its groundbreaking in 1889 When it finally opened its doors, it was among the finest theaters in the world Managed by impresarios who dedicated it to opera, ballet, and symphony concerts, the Colón hosted the greatest artists of the era Around 1927, the city of Buenos Aires assumed management of the Colón and set up a radio network to broadcast its programs throughout the country The outstanding artists of the Italian, Spanish, Russian, and German schools of opera— among them Caruso, Ruffo, Chaliapin, De Luca, Johnson, Barrientos, Martinelli, Bori, Alda, Muzio, Fleta, Pinza, Thill, Vallin, Gigli, Alda, and Melchior—sang on its stage Diaghilev, Nijinsky, Karsavina,