Centro · Rio de Janeiro

Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro

Rio's opera house since 1909, modeled on the Paris Opera.

Landmark building

About the building

The Theatro Municipal presides over Praça Floriano — Cinelândia — at the foot of Avenida Rio Branco, and it is the building most people picture when they picture old downtown Rio. Gilded domes, mosaics and sculpture outside; marble staircases, stained glass and a working opera, ballet and symphony program inside.

Cinelândia around it concentrates the civic set pieces of the old capital: the Biblioteca Nacional and Museu Nacional de Belas Artes face the same square, with the metro directly underneath. For anyone living in or near Centro, this square is the cultural front door.

Address: Praça Floriano s/n, Cinelândia, Centro, Rio de Janeiro

History

It came out of the Pereira Passos remodeling of central Rio. A 1903–04 design competition ended in a tie between projects by engineer Francisco de Oliveira Passos — the mayor's son — and French architect Albert Guilbert, and the built theater fused the two, both openly inspired by Garnier's Paris Opera. President Nilo Peçanha inaugurated it on 14 July 1909 with seating for 1,739.

It has been restored several times, most extensively for its centenary, and remains the home stage of the city's symphony, opera and ballet companies.

What's around

Metrô Cinelândia (L1/L2) 1 min walk
Biblioteca Nacional 2 min walk
Museu Nacional de Belas Artes 2 min walk
Arcos da Lapa 8 min walk
Santos Dumont Airport 7 min by car

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