Solís Theatre
Solís Theatre
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Solís Theatre

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Solís Theatre

Solís Theatre (Spanish: Teatro Solís) is Uruguay's most important and renowned theater. It opened in 1856. The building was designed by the Italian architect Carlo Zucchi. It is located in Montevideo's Old Town, right next to the Plaza Independencia. The theatre was named after the explorer Juan Díaz de Solís, who was the first European explorer to land in modern day Uruguay.

In 1998, the government of Montevideo started a major reconstruction of the theatre, which included two columns designed by Philippe Starck. The reconstruction was completed in 2004 with the re-opening taking place in August of that year. Acoustic studies of the rehabilitation project was entrusted to Jerome Falala of the French studio Avel Acoustique.

Tomás Giribaldi's La Parisina, considered the first Uruguayan national opera, was premiered at the Solís on 14 September 1878.

In 1833, a group of influential citizens in Montevideo came together to form a group of stakeholders to construct a new theatre, they formed the Theater Committee which was led by Francisco Margariños. In 1840, the committee received approval from the government to construct a new theatre. The board of directors for the theatre's construction was led by Juan Francisco Giró. Also, the board included distinguished citizens such as Luis Lamas, Juan Miguel Martínez, Juan Benito Blanco, Francisco Solano Antuña, Ramón Atragaveytia, and Vincente Vázquez.

The first meeting of the committee took place on 16 June of the same year. The conception of the theatre was to be a cultural center that represented one's free spirit, and that primarily worked to provide the emerging society of the Eastern State of Uruguay a place for harmony, prosperity, and wealth.

The motivation behind constructing a theatre was to have a worthy place where one could be seen socializing and flaunt one's social and political influence. The necessity behind constructing a theatre in Montevideo was the need to elevate one's social and political status through civil associations that had a cultural, scientific, and commercial nature. Therefore, the new theatre would offer a platform for socializing among the societal elite.

In August 1840, the Italian architect Carlo Zucchi presented his plans for the theatre to the stakeholders of the project, detailing where he wanted to construct the theatre.

In his report, Zucchi identified and described the area that surrounded the theatre, his suggestions are listed in the following:

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