ENJOY THE COLÓN EXPERIENCE AT HOME

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Among the many sources of music widely available on line, the website of Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón ( WWW.teatrocolon.org ) stands out among its many competitors. Readily available to the curious listener, the archival sound treasures of this illustrious institution go back to the 1940’s.

Sound recordings of recitals by singers Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Birgit Nilsson, José Carreras, Luciano Pavaroti and Régine Crespin are offered on its site side by side with concerts by guitarist Narciso Yepes, pianists Martha Argerich and Claudio Arrau, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, along with full operas featuring the likes of Leontyne Price, Martina Arroyo, and Teresa Berganza.

Starting with the new century, fully staged operas and ballets featuring a mix of Argentine talents and international stars are available on video along with concerts by the superb Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Colon Theater of Buenos Aires is one of the most important opera houses of the world. The Teatro Colón functioned from 1857 to 1888 and then reopened on May 25, 1908. The theatre was again closed from October 2006 to May 2010, when it reopened with vast improvements to its technical capabilities to its huge 65 ft. x 65 ft. stage. The theatre’s seating capacity is 2,487 seats with additional standing room for 1,000 and it has just about perfect acoustics.   

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”