Teatro Amazonas - Culture in the Jungle

Teatro Amazonas

You know it's there but until you are standing in front of it, its hard to believe your eyes.  

Manaus’s Teatro Amazonas with its golden dome was constructed at the height of the rubber boom in 1882.  

Golden dome sparkles in the sun

This remote town in the middle of the continent was at one time the richest city in the world, sophisticated and cultured. The city is reputed to have had electricity long before many European cities, with street lighting and tram lines.

No expense was spared to make the Opera House, the city's centrepiece, the grandest in the New World. Wrought iron staircases were brought from England, intricate chandeliers from France, marble and Murano glass from Italy.

Inlaid wood flooring in the auditorium

While the floors were fashioned from Brazilian wood, the wood was sent to Europe to be carved and polished.

Standing in the Porte Cochere we allowed our imaginations to run wild briefly as we visualized the horse drawn carriages arriving with Manaus’s wealthy residents, elegantly dressed for a performance at the Opera House.

What a life it must have been for the privileged, that is, until Manaus lost its monopoly on rubber production.

Gilded balconies

When the rubber boom collapsed, Manaus's opulent times came to an abrupt end. The Opera House fell into disrepair and languished. The auditorium was used for storage. Football is said to have been played on the stage!

Over the years many attempts were made to restore the building to its former splendour but it wasn’t until 1990 when work was finally completed.

The royal box

The region’s Governor is reputed to have set aside a substantial amount of money to equip a professional orchestra, choir and ballet school, all this despite the glaring need for infrastructure improvements within the City itself.

Intricate ceilings and chandeliers

We wondered what today's residents of Manaus thought about it all.

There was no way of telling as people rushed this way and that, going about their daily business.