Which theater in Manaus, Brazil, is a famous opera house from the rubber boom era?

The famous opera house in Manaus, Brazil, from the rubber boom era is Teatro Amazonas, also called the Amazon Theatre.

The theatre reflects the extraordinary wealth generated by Amazon rubber during the late 19th-century Belle Époque. Local leaders wanted a grand cultural venue in the rainforest, and construction began in 1884. The building was inaugurated on December 31, 1896; its first opera performance followed on January 7, 1897, with Amilcare Ponchielli’s La Gioconda.

Its Renaissance Revival design uses materials imported from several countries. The dome is covered with 36,000 decorated ceramic tiles in Brazil’s national colors, while marble came from Italy and parts of the steel structure came from Glasgow. The auditorium seats 701 people, a reminder that it was designed as a prestigious but relatively intimate opera house.

Teatro Amazonas is not Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, or Teatro Solís in Montevideo. Those are important South American theatres, but they belong to different cities and historical settings. Today, the Manaus theatre hosts the Festival Amazonas de Ópera and performances by the Amazonas Philharmonic.