Tacón Theatre: Difference between revisions
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[[File:1900 Teatro de Tacon in Havana Cuba by Detroit Photographic Company (0981).jpg|thumb|right|Teatro Tacón, Havana, 1900]] |
[[File:1900 Teatro de Tacon in Havana Cuba by Detroit Photographic Company (0981).jpg|thumb|right|Teatro Tacón, Havana, 1900]] |
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The '''Teatro Tacón''' was a theatre in [[Havana]], [[Cuba]], opened in 1838. Its auditorium contained 2,750 seats.<ref>{{cite book|author= Leopoldo Fornés Bonavía |title=Cuba, cronología: cinco siglos de historia, política y cultura|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJduKDMU8pcC|year= 2003|publisher={{Interlanguage link multi|Editorial Verbum|es}} |location=Madrid |isbn=978-84-7962-248-0 |language=es }}</ref> It was built by {{Interlanguage link multi|Pancho Martí|ca|3=Francesc Martí i Torrents}}.{{sfn|Ramírez|1891}}<ref name="Sublette2007">{{cite book|author= [[Ned Sublette]] |title=Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZZ4QKZEumIC|year= 2004|publisher=Chicago Review Press|isbn=978-1-56976-420-6}}</ref> In 1847 [[Giovanni Bottesini|Bottesini]]'s opera ''Cristoforo Colombo'' premiered at the theatre.<ref>{{citation |author=[[Robert Stevenson (musicologist)|Robert Murrell Stevenson]] |chapter=Havana |title=New Grove Dictionary of Opera |location= New York |year= 1992 |isbn=0935859926 }}</ref> By 1855 so many attended events that the city issued parking regulations for [[carriages]] on performance nights.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ordenanzas municipales de la ciudad de La Habana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZY6AQAAMAAJ|year=1855|publisher=Imprenta del gobierno y capitania general |language=es |chapter=Art.169-175 }}</ref> |
The '''Teatro Tacón''' was a theatre in [[Havana]], [[Cuba]], opened in 1838. Its auditorium contained 2,750 seats.<ref>{{cite book|author= Leopoldo Fornés Bonavía |title=Cuba, cronología: cinco siglos de historia, política y cultura|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJduKDMU8pcC|year= 2003|publisher={{Interlanguage link multi|Editorial Verbum|es}} |location=Madrid |isbn=978-84-7962-248-0 |language=es }}</ref> It was built by {{Interlanguage link multi|Pancho Martí|ca|3=Francesc Martí i Torrents}}.{{sfn|Ramírez|1891}}<ref name="Sublette2007">{{cite book|author= [[Ned Sublette]] |title=Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZZ4QKZEumIC|year= 2004|publisher=Chicago Review Press|isbn=978-1-56976-420-6}}</ref> In 1847 [[Giovanni Bottesini|Bottesini]]'s opera ''Cristoforo Colombo'' premiered at the theatre.<ref>{{citation |author=[[Robert Stevenson (musicologist)|Robert Murrell Stevenson]] |chapter=Havana |title=New Grove Dictionary of Opera |location= New York |year= 1992 |isbn=0935859926 }}</ref> By 1855 so many attended events that the city issued parking regulations for [[carriages]] on performance nights.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ordenanzas municipales de la ciudad de La Habana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZY6AQAAMAAJ|year=1855|publisher=Imprenta del gobierno y capitania general |language=es |chapter=Art.169-175 }}</ref> |
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==Caruso== |
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Rafael de Acha writes about the time he heard Caruso:{{quote| |
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The 1915 season saw the inauguration of the newly refurbished Tacon Theatre, a jewel-box built in 1776 that was brought back to life 144 years later by the high society that had missed a proper venue to listen to Verdi and Puccini. |
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Caruso and company arrived by ship on May 5, 1920. Signor Grattale had negotiated a fee of $10,000 per performance – ten of AIDA in Havana, and a pair of concerts, one in Santa Clara, one in Cienfuegos. |
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Caruso was in good and starry company, with baritone Riccardo Stracciari, basso Jose Mardones, soprano Maria Barrientos and mezzo-soprano Gabriela Bensanzoni. Maestro Tulio Serafin was the conductor. |
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Tickets were priced at 25 pesos (25 pesos equaled $25 back then) which was about the average monthly salary of a laborer. Scalpers were asking $60 a pop. |
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Meanwhile, my father and his oldest sibling (of eleven) “Albertico” were hoping that they could make it to Havana in time to snap up a couple of seats, even in what Cubans called the “gallinero” (chicken coop) section of the upper reaches of the theatre. |
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No such luck. All ten performances were sold out. |
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Disappointed, the two boys decided to give Verdi a shot anyway and they stood outside the theatre on opening night, hoping to catch a last minute cancellation, only to find out there was a crowd standing just outside the box office nurturing the very same hope. |
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When curtain time came, Caruso heard the hubbub of the crowd just outside the theatre and, to the amazement of everyone, demanded that the front and side doors of the august Tacon Theatre be opened so that the crowd outside could hear the performance. For free. |
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Caruso’s request was obeyed and the doors were opened. My father and uncle, along with several hundred other Cuban opera fans listened in rapture to the biggest voiced cast of Aida ever, sitting on the grass, benches and sidewalks of a Havana city park in 1920.}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Gran Teatro de La Habana]], successor to Teatro Tacon |
* [[Gran Teatro de La Habana]], successor to Teatro Tacon |
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Revision as of 17:27, 31 December 2018
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The Teatro Tacón was a theatre in Havana, Cuba, opened in 1838. Its auditorium contained 2,750 seats.[1] It was built by Pancho Martí.[2][3] In 1847 Bottesini's opera Cristoforo Colombo premiered at the theatre.[4] By 1855 so many attended events that the city issued parking regulations for carriages on performance nights.[5]
Caruso
Rafael de Acha writes about the time he heard Caruso:
The 1915 season saw the inauguration of the newly refurbished Tacon Theatre, a jewel-box built in 1776 that was brought back to life 144 years later by the high society that had missed a proper venue to listen to Verdi and Puccini.
Caruso and company arrived by ship on May 5, 1920. Signor Grattale had negotiated a fee of $10,000 per performance – ten of AIDA in Havana, and a pair of concerts, one in Santa Clara, one in Cienfuegos.
Caruso was in good and starry company, with baritone Riccardo Stracciari, basso Jose Mardones, soprano Maria Barrientos and mezzo-soprano Gabriela Bensanzoni. Maestro Tulio Serafin was the conductor.
Tickets were priced at 25 pesos (25 pesos equaled $25 back then) which was about the average monthly salary of a laborer. Scalpers were asking $60 a pop.
Meanwhile, my father and his oldest sibling (of eleven) “Albertico” were hoping that they could make it to Havana in time to snap up a couple of seats, even in what Cubans called the “gallinero” (chicken coop) section of the upper reaches of the theatre.
No such luck. All ten performances were sold out.
Disappointed, the two boys decided to give Verdi a shot anyway and they stood outside the theatre on opening night, hoping to catch a last minute cancellation, only to find out there was a crowd standing just outside the box office nurturing the very same hope.
When curtain time came, Caruso heard the hubbub of the crowd just outside the theatre and, to the amazement of everyone, demanded that the front and side doors of the august Tacon Theatre be opened so that the crowd outside could hear the performance. For free.
Caruso’s request was obeyed and the doors were opened. My father and uncle, along with several hundred other Cuban opera fans listened in rapture to the biggest voiced cast of Aida ever, sitting on the grass, benches and sidewalks of a Havana city park in 1920.
See also
- Gran Teatro de La Habana, successor to Teatro Tacon
- Paseo del Prado, Havana, street adjacent to theatre
References
- ^ Leopoldo Fornés Bonavía (2003). Cuba, cronología: cinco siglos de historia, política y cultura (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial Verbum. ISBN 978-84-7962-248-0.
- ^ Ramírez 1891.
- ^ Ned Sublette (2004). Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-56976-420-6.
- ^ Robert Murrell Stevenson (1992), "Havana", New Grove Dictionary of Opera, New York, ISBN 0935859926
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Art.169-175". Ordenanzas municipales de la ciudad de La Habana (in Spanish). Imprenta del gobierno y capitania general. 1855.
Bibliography
- Jacobo de la Pezuela (1863). "Habana: Edificios de Recreo: Teatro de Tacon". Diccionario geografico, estadístico, historico, de la isla de Cuba (in Spanish). Vol. 3. Madrid: Mellado.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - Serafín Ramírez (1891). "De 1830 a 1840". La Habana artística: Apuntes históricos (in Spanish). Havana: Imp. del E. M. de la Capitanía General. pp. 133+.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) (+ Programs of the theatre, p.657-660)
Gallery
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Teatro Tacon in 1853 Map of Havana, Cuba
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External links
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