ARGENTINA -Post Card from Down South -Buenos Aires Grand Opera House

If you didn’t know it, I will tell you that the Teatro Colon (Columbus) is one of South America’s most impressive theater venues and considered to be one of six great opera houses of the world.

Its forthcoming centennial celebrates the cultured art of first class opera, symphony and ballet.

The Teatro Colon was originally under construction for 20 years due to high turnover of project architects and government administrations, financial setbacks and red tape. It finally opened its doors in 1908. In 2008, the opera house commemorated its one hundred years of excellence in the performing arts. 

 Italian immigrants were highly influential on the local opera scene and the construction of a performing arts center was forthcoming for many years before the turn of the 20^th century.

As one of the most elaborate buildings in the Americas, Teatro Colon’s structure is mostly of  Italian Renaissance design; its Grand Hall, combines many styles and influences including Greek columns of Carrara marble to show off a collection of very detailed classical European composer busts.

The pride of Buenos Aires, the Colon, has hosted the most celebrated opera and ballet icons of the 20th Century. Caruso, Maria Callas, Krauss, Beverly Sills, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Pavarotti and Renee Fleming stand out among the renowned vocalists. Fonteyn, Pavlova, Nijinski, Nureiev, Barishnikov and Bocca are among the ballet performers while symphony masters as illustrious as Stravinsky, Toscanini, Von Karajan and Zubin Metha have measurably graced the stage over the decades. 

Music holds an exceptional position at the Colon, a fact that highlights the city’s purely European feel in its devotion to the musical arts. Those who love classical music can select from an array of concerts performed at different stages. Both, the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Symphony are housed at the Colon and offer frequent complimentary concerts.

A technological and acoustic four-year renovation completed in 2010 is said to have come close to 25 million US dollars.

Offering seating capacity for over 2400 spectators, the Teatro Colon consists of its own ‘in-house’ ballet and theater companies, an orchestra, workshops, music and dance schools as well as a museum.

A truthfully colossal building, the Colon boasts ample dimensions, a luxurious interior so acoustically perfect that an un-amplified voice can be heard singing pianissimo, even in the remotest balconies.

Tours of the theater lead visitors through the Grand Hall, the lavishly gilded and mirrored Golden Room, and the auditorium, which highlights the vibrant frescoes done by Argentinian artist Raul Soldi.

As part of the tour, visitors also proceed through workshops and practice rooms in the four-level basement where they may witness 11,000-sq-ft stage backdrops, as they are being hand-painted by expert artisans whenever a new opera or ballet is in the works. Copious items of period clothing, headgear and footwear used in past performances, are on view through glass enclosures.

The performance hall itself holds an enormous Baccarat crystal chandelier, and thick, weighty velvet curtains. I’ve been told that if not attending a performance, the grandness of the Colon cannot be appreciated fully. A tour of the premises, nevertheless, affords better insight of the size and scope of this highest center for the performing arts.

I am in awe of the Grand Entrance Salon with the spacious twin marbled staircases, the multi paned stained glass doors and windows and the velvety armchairs of the performance hall. There are layers of balconies and private viewing boxes just below the gleaming majestic chandelier – center stage in the vast loftiness of the upper ceilings. 

I love theater, music, opera and ballet; I do hope to be able to attend a performance once the winter season begins -- a most inspiring experience, no doubt.

It’s autumn in Buenos Aires…this year’s performing arts season begins May 25.

esw@march2012

ARGENTINA Post Cards from Down South -Buenos Aires and Tango

Buenos Aires, a glamorous seaport and lively modern metropolis extends along the Rio de la Plata (River of Silver or River Plate), the estuary formed by the convergence of the Uruguay and Paraná Rivers on the southeastern cone of the South American coastline.

It is June and the weather is cold. Wandering the avenues of this wintry Southern hemisphere city, reveals a rich cultural identity steeped in continental tradition. Populated in the late 18^th century by working class Spaniards, Italians, Irish shepherds lured by the vastness of the pampas, and a mix of Eastern and Western Europeans on their way to making a new life in a land of opportunity, Buenos Aires became known as the Queen of the River Plate.

What I love about B.A., as the locals call it, is its intellectual beat. Over one hundred cinemas and live stages near and around the business district, but also throughout suburban communities grace the city, all presenting current local and international films, theater performances from previous and contemporary playwrights, opera, plus concerts in parks and auditoriums. 

And food (!), I can’t say enough about the wealth of culinary experiences as all types of global cuisines await the city’s ravenous palates within countless restaurants, tea houses, art galleries, and shopping malls.  People live intensely here, apparently preoccupied with their jobs, schoolwork, their cell phones or whatever motivates them. Women seem to smoke a great deal out of doors, no smoking is allowed indoors. Sidewalk cafes, in spite of the cold weather, teem with students, shoppers and tourists sipping cappuccinos and strong demitasse coffees.

We are staying in something called an aparthotel, which combines the freedom of a well-equipped apartment with the integrated convenience of weekly maid service and daily breakfast. It is easily accessible by the subway line D, bus and taxi service and not far from Recoleta, an uptown district of architectural and historic interest. Of note is the Recoleta Cemetery where Evita Peron, once first lady of Argentina, is buried.

In my recent walks, I have discovered local artists’ shops, bookstores and colorful row houses in the Italian district of La Boca, a little ‘cultural pocket’ where early immigrant settlers established Buenos Aires’ first seaport. 

Caminito St. (little road) is said to have been the site of the first accordion notes of the Argentine tango.  Although it is crowded with pedestrians in the early hours of the afternoon, I got the feeling that at night, safety may be an issue in this part of town, not violent crime, but possibly pick- pocketing -- a fact much in accordance with the character of any large metropolitan area.

Immediately captivated by the first chords of a tango, I sit down on a nearby bench and listen to the solitary accordionist on Caminito St., squeezing  and expanding  the large instrument on his lap with both hands,  a most melodious sound filling the frosty air.

I have read somewhere that the Tango was born in Buenos Aires around the later part of the nineteenth century; however, this happened only along the fringes of the city, by the river, in houses of disrepute, gambling casinos, and taverns -- places frequented by lonely sailors and manual workers seeking distraction and romance. 

The close contact of the dance steps -- close hold, cheek to cheek, chest to chest, interlacing fingers and legs -- made the tango socially unacceptable to respectable families and women of good reputation. The beginning, the Tango began to be practiced by men and women of questionable repute because women from suitable upbringing were unavailable to do so.

Gradually, the new dance spread mostly among the Italian and Polish immigrants already acquainted with the close embrace of the waltz and the polka. It took even longer for the well-to-do families to allow their daughters, sisters and girlfriends to incur in a few respectable dance steps in the tearooms and dance halls of the prospering southern city. 

Between the late 1880’s and early 1930’s, Argentina’s character changed, growing rapidly along its increasing population, multi level buildings, wide boulevards and attractive parks. A rich and educated portion of young students customarily accustomed to long stays in Paris and London, apparently introduced the first sounds of the Argentinian tango at European music halls.

The harmony became a favorite of the nightclub scene throughout Europe and later on across the Atlantic.

By the 1920’s, the Tango took New York City by storm, Hollywood by surprise, and on its return to Argentina it was received as a privileged international child, at last considered respectable on the home front.

Seemingly an Afro-Portuguese or creole word in origin, tango came to be known in Argentina, and probably other Spanish colonies, at the onset of the slavery trade, efficiently carried out by the Spaniard and Portuguese settlers in the 17^th century.  Some say tango was the word used for the tight confined spaces slaves had to endure on their ocean crossings to the new world. Others say tango refers to an African drumbeat. Whatever its true origin, the tango has crossed boundaries and today is one of the world’s most favorite dances. 

I have been told that the USA has vibrant tango communities, large and small, where week long festivals are held yearly. Many students of tango around the world dream of sometime dancing it in Buenos Aires.

The ultimate dancing spots for tango lovers in Buenos Aires are the beautifully preserved nineteenth century dance hall called Confiteria Ideal, and the Plaza Dorrego weekend flea and antique market where very talented couples tango in the open air on Spring and Summer days.

On my way back to my aparthotel, I make my way through Plaza Dorrego, a hushed shaded plaza with deciduous trees where the people of Buenos Aires, called porteños, bring their baby carriages and their newspapers. It seems to be one of the many lovely squares that adorn the city, on the plaza itself side-walk cafes serve cortados (lattes) and deliciously light and crisp croissants called medialunas (half-moons).

An assortment of antique shops and art galleries regale the eye with impressive timeless objects and works of art. I am told the Sunday Flea Market is a must and that the remarkable buildings surrounding Plaza Dorrego, have been restored to their original late 1800’s European architectural splendor by the Restoration Committee of the Museo de la Ciudad (Museum of the city).

  

At almost 5 PM, dusk approaches and crossing the Avenida Independencia, the roar of the traffic brings to mind my steaming Bangkok days, except that the weather here is cold, and the city appears to be encased in a haze of frosty polar air that to me feels just like forthcoming snow. I am so glad for my cozy gloves, hat and scarf!

ESW@/june2010