Teatro Municipal Alberto Saavedra Pérez
La Paz's civic theatre of 1845, a neoclassical house for drama, opera, ballet and concerts.
Work on a permanent theatre for La Paz began in the 1830s under President Andrés de Santa Cruz and was completed during the presidency of José Ballivián. The house opened on 18 November 1845 and is one of the oldest purpose-built theatres in the region. The architect José Núñez del Prado, who also worked on the government palace in La Paz and on university buildings in Sucre, is said to have modelled the auditorium on a Venetian theatre. The result is an academic neoclassical building tucked into the steep streets of the old centre.
The facade has been remodelled more than once, but the horseshoe auditorium with its tiers of boxes and painted ceiling survives largely unaltered. In 1957 the theatre was renamed after Alberto Saavedra Pérez, the playwright and journalist from La Paz who founded the Bolivian Society of Theatre Authors in 1923. It is run by the municipal government as part of a group of civic theatres and presents drama, opera, ballet, folk ensembles, orchestral concerts and festivals through the year.
Highlights
- Opened in November 1845, among the oldest theatres in the region
- Horseshoe auditorium with tiered boxes and painted ceiling
- Designed by José Núñez del Prado on a Venetian model
- Named in 1957 after the playwright Alberto Saavedra Pérez
