Theatro Municipal

Before you stands the great symbol of a Rio that wanted to look like Paris. It's no coincidence that its silhouette recalls the Palais Garnier.

1A theatre fit for a capital

In the late nineteenth century Rio had a lively theatre scene but no venue worthy of a capital. In 1894 the playwright Artur Azevedo launched a campaign for a municipal theatre. A law was passed, even a tax, but nothing was built. It was Mayor Pereira Passos who, in the middle of a sweeping urban makeover and the opening of Avenida Central from 1903, held a design competition. The winner was his own son, Francisco de Oliveira Passos, working with the Frenchman Albert Guilbert.

2Built in record time

Work began in 1905 on some 1,600 wooden piles driven into the waterlogged ground. 280 workers laboured in two shifts and, four and a half years later, on 14 July 1909, President Nilo Peçanha opened the theatre. Eliseu Visconti, Rodolfo Amoedo and the Bernardelli brothers were called in to decorate it.

Maria Callas, Sarah Bernhardt, Toscanini, Stravinsky and Villa-Lobos have all appeared on its stage.

Today it has its own orchestra, choir and ballet and, despite its name, is run by the state of Rio.

3What to look for

• The golden eagles above the green domes.
• The mosaics and artists' names on the façade.
• Cinelândia all around, with the National Library and City Council.