Manaus’s Teatro Amazonas opened in 1896 during the Amazon rubber boom. The opera house was built when Manaus became wealthy from latex exports and sought to present itself as a modern international city.
Its materials and furnishings reflected that ambition. Steel came from Europe, marble was imported from Italy, and much of the decorative work was commissioned from European craftsmen. The building’s dome is covered with coloured ceramic tiles arranged in the pattern of the Brazilian flag.
The rubber economy later collapsed after rubber-tree seeds were successfully cultivated in Asian plantations, where production was cheaper and more efficient. Teatro Amazonas survived as a reminder of that boom. Manaus remains a major urban centre surrounded by the Amazon rainforest.