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==The present Teatro Colón==
[[File:Teatro_Colón,_Buenos_Aires_01.jpg|thumb|Side view of the theater]]

===Characteristics===
The theatre is bounded by the wide [[9 de Julio Avenue]] (technically Cerrito Street), Libertad Street (the main entrance), Arturo Toscanini Street, and Tucumán Street.<ref>[http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/English/history.htm History of the Colón Theatre (in English)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517070546/http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/English/history.htm |date=2008-05-17 }}</ref> It is in the heart of the city on a site once occupied by [[Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires|Ferrocarril Oeste]]'s ''Plaza Parque'' station.

The auditorium is horseshoe-shaped, has 2,487 seats (slightly more than the [[Royal Opera House]] in [[Covent Garden]], London), standing room for 1,000 and a stage which is 20 m wide, 15 m high and 20 m deep.<ref>[http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/inicio.htm Official website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513191520/http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/inicio.htm |date=2008-05-13 }}</ref> The low-rise building has 6 floors above ground and 3 below ground, 7 elevators with a facade of applied masonry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/240774/teatro-colon-buenos-aires-argentina |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103055655/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/240774/teatro-colon-buenos-aires-argentina |url-status=usurped |archive-date=3 January 2019 |title=Teatro Colón|website=Emporis|access-date=13 June 2017}}</ref> It has a large central chandelier with 700 light bulbs. The original architect was the [[Italy|Italian]] Francesco Tamburini; after his death it was completed by the [[Belgium|Belgian]] architect [[Julio Dormal]]. The original auditorium "had eight boxes with metal grilles and a separate entrance, so that those in mourning could still attend performances, but remain dignifiedly sequestered from public view".<ref name=architecturalreview>{{cite web|url=https://www.architectural-review.com/rethink/buenos-aires-argentina-the-teatro-coln-opera-house-in-buenos-aires-is-finally-restored-to-its-luscious-former-glory/8604803.article|title=Buenos Aires, Argentina − The Teatro Colón opera house in Buenos Aires is finally restored to its luscious former glory|last=Slessor|first=Catherine|date=23 August 2010|publisher=The Architectural Review|access-date=13 June 2017}}</ref>

The Colon's [[acoustics]] are considered to be so good as to place it in the top five performance venues in the world.<ref name="Long">Long, Marshall, [http://mlacoustics.com/PDF/Shoebox.pdf "What is So Special About Shoebox Halls?  Envelopment, Envelopment, Envelopment"], ''Acoustics Today'', April 2009, pp.21–25.</ref> [[Luciano Pavarotti]] held a similar opinion.<ref>Luciano Pavarotti's reaction to the acoustics in Lynn, p.30: The theatre's "acoustics (have) the greatest defect: its acoustics are perfect! Imagine what this signifies for the singer: if one sings something bad, one notices immediately"</ref>

===Opening and subsequent history===
[[File:Funcion de gala Teatro Colon 1935.png|thumb|A 1935 gala premiere]]
[[File:Salon dorado del Teatro Colón.jpg|thumb|The ''Salón Dorado'']]
The present theatre, the second with that name, opened on 25 May 1908, after twenty years under construction,<ref>[http://www.haciendoelcolon.buenosaires.gob.ar/puesta-en-valor/historia/1 History of the Teatro Colón from haciendoelcolon.buenosaires.gob.ar (in Spanish)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523022310/http://www.haciendoelcolon.buenosaires.gob.ar/puesta-en-valor/historia/1 |date=23 May 2017 }} Retrieved 9 Nov 2010</ref> and was inaugurated with ''[[Aida]]'' by the Italian company directed by [[Luigi Mancinelli]] and tenor [[Amedeo Bassi]], soprano Lucia Crestani (as Aida). The second presentation was Thomas' ''[[Hamlet (opera)|Hamlet]]'' with the baritone [[Titta Ruffo]]<ref>[http://www.operas-colon.com.ar/index1.htm Teatro Colon website (in Spanish)]</ref> During the inaugural season seventeen operas were performed with famous stars such as [[Titta Ruffo|Ruffo]], [[Feodor Chaliapin]] in [[Boito]]'s ''[[Mefistofele]]'', [[Antonio Paoli]] in [[Verdi]]'s ''[[Otello]]''.

The cornerstone of the present Teatro Colón was laid in 1889 under the direction of architect [[Francesco Tamburini]] and his pupil, [[Vittorio Meano]], who designed a theatre in the Italian style on a scale and with amenities which matched those in Europe.  However, delays followed due to financial difficulties, arguments regarding the location, the death of Tamburini in 1891, the murder of Meano in 1904 and the death of Angelo Ferrari, an Italian businessman who was financing the new theatre. The building was finally completed in 1908 under the direction of the Belgian architect [[Julio Dormal]] who made some changes in the structure and left his mark in the French style of the decoration.  The bas-reliefs and busts on the facade are the work of sculptor [[Luigi Trinchero]].

The theatre's opening on 25 May, the ''Día de la Patria'' in Argentina, featured a performance of Verdi's ''[[Aida]]'' and it quickly became a world-famous operatic venue rivaling [[La Scala]] and the [[Metropolitan Opera]] in attracting most of the world's best opera singers and conductors.
[[File:Colon-interior-escenario-TM.jpg|thumb|Concert hall and stage]]
The Teatro was bombed by anarchists in 1910; [[Georges Clemenceau]] was present in Argentina during the attack.<ref name=architecturalreview/> The bomb landed in the middle of the orchestra. Clemenceau describes the attack as follows: "The horror can not be exaggerated. A senior official told me that he had never seen such puddles of blood. The wounded were carried off as best as possible, and the room was emptied by the cries of fury, and the material damage repaired during the day which followed, not a woman of society missed the representation of the morrow. It is a fine trait of character that particularly honours the female element of the Argentine nation. I am not quite sure that in Paris the hall would have been full in such cases."<ref>{{cite book |last=Clemenceau |first=Georges |date=1911 |title=Notes de voyage dans l'Amérique du sud : Argentine, Uruguay, Brésil |trans-title=Travel notes in South America: Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil |url=http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb319516000 |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=Hachette }}</ref>

Ballet stars performed at the Colón alongside Argentine dancers and classical instrumentalists. This included the prima ballerina, [[Lida Martinoli]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Music Magazine/Musical Courier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LuQKAQAAIAAJ|year=1953|page=xv}}</ref> When she retired from dancing, Martinoli began to choreograph. She died in [[Santa Fe, Argentina|Santa Fe]]. The tragic 1971 aviation death of two of the best known of these, [[Norma Fontenla]] and [[José Neglia]], was commemorated with a monument in neighbouring Lavalle Square.

With excellent acoustics and modern stage areas, the theatre's interior design features a rich scarlet and gold decor. The [[cupola]] contains canvas painted in 1966 by the 20th-century artist [[Raúl Soldi]] during renovation work.
[[File:Sala Principal Teatro Colón.jpg|thumb|Concert hall and stage ceiling detail with allegorical frescoes painted by [[Raúl Soldi]]]]

===Refurbishment (2005–2010)===
In recent years, given the political and economic circumstances of Argentina, the Teatro Colón has suffered considerably, but a period of slow recovery began.  The theatre underwent massive phased remodelling of both interior and exterior, initially while the house was still open, but production activities ceased at the end of December 2006 to allow full refurbishment.

Initially, "what had been planned as an 18-month, $25-million renovation with 500 workers, scheduled for a May 2008 reopening with ''Aida'', became a three-year $100-million extravaganza with 1,500 workers including 130 professional architects and engineers."<ref name="Lynn">Lynn, p. 29</ref>  In addition, an exterior open-air stage was planned for an opening in 2011.<ref name="Lynn"/> In all, {{convert|60000|sqm|sqft|0}} underwent updating, both inside and out.

Some of the last performances immediately before closure of the theatre's building were  ''[[Swan Lake]]'' on 30 September with the Ballet Estable del Teatro Colón and the [[Buenos Aires Philharmonic]] (''Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/English/Programacion/Temporada2006/calendarios/septiembre06.htm|title=Official Schedule for September 2006|publisher=Teatro Colón|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717181220/http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/English/Programacion/Temporada2006/calendarios/septiembre06.htm|archive-date=17 July 2007}}</ref> and, on 28 October, the opera ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]'' was given featuring Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón and the house chorus.<ref name="Official Schedule for October 2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/English/Programacion/Temporada2006/calendarios/octubre06.htm|title=Official Schedule for October 2006|publisher=Teatro Colón|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613073547/http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/English/Programacion/Temporada2006/calendarios/octubre06.htm|archive-date=13 June 2007}}</ref>

The theatre's final performance before its closure for refurbishment works in 2005 was a concert on 1 November starring folklore singer [[Mercedes Sosa]] in performance with the [[Argentine National Symphony Orchestra]], conducted by [[Pedro Ignacio Calderón]].

While it was originally planned to reopen in time for the centenary on 25 May 2008, delays prevented this, and the house was finally reopened with a gala concert and 3D animations on 24 May 2010, the eve of its own 102nd birthday and the [[Argentina Bicentennial]]. Tchaikovsky's ''[[Swan Lake]]'' and Act 2 of Puccini's ''[[La bohème]]'' were performed. A private concert to test the acoustics attended by employees, architects, and others involved in the renovation occurred on 6 May 2010.<ref>{{cite news|author=Daniel Fernández Quinti|title=Probaron que la acústica del Teatro Colón está intacta|publisher=Clarín (Buenos Aires)|date=7 May 2010|url=https://www.clarin.com/ediciones-anteriores/probaron-acustica-teatro-colon-intacta_0_rkJG7_806Fx.html|access-date=5 July 2010|language=es}}</ref> On the 6 September 2013, the Teatro Colón hosted the Opening Ceremony of the [[125th IOC Session|125th Session of the International Olympic Committee.]]