Teatro Municipal de Santiago
Chile’s national opera house since 1857, staging opera, ballet and concerts.
The Teatro Municipal de Santiago is Chile's principal venue for opera, ballet and orchestral music, standing on Calle Agustinas in the centre of the capital. It opened on 17 September 1857 with a performance of Verdi's Ernani by an Italian company. The design was begun by the French architect François Brunet des Baines and, after his death in 1855, completed under Lucien Hénault and Manuel Aldunate. Built in the French neoclassical style, the theatre was declared a National Monument of Chile in 1974.
The building has been rebuilt and altered several times. A fire on 8 December 1870 destroyed much of the interior, and a reconstruction led by Hénault reopened in July 1873. The 1906 earthquake caused serious damage, prompting repairs that replaced adobe with brick, and a later fire damaged the stage area. The horseshoe-shaped main hall now seats roughly 1,500 people beneath a large crystal chandelier, while the smaller Sala Claudio Arrau is used for chamber music, recitals and talks.
The theatre is managed by the Corporación Cultural de Santiago and is home to three resident ensembles: the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago, founded in 1955; the Ballet de Santiago, founded in 1959; and the Coro del Municipal, founded in 1962. Each annual season combines opera productions, full-length and mixed-bill ballets, symphonic concerts and recitals by visiting soloists, alongside family shows. The building is also open for guided tours, which visit the auditorium and historic salons.
Highlights
- Chile's leading opera house, in continuous use since its opening in 1857
- French neoclassical building, declared a National Monument in 1974
- Horseshoe-shaped main hall for around 1,500 beneath a crystal chandelier
- Home to the Santiago Philharmonic, Ballet de Santiago and the Municipal Chorus
- Guided tours of the auditorium and historic salons
