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57-589: The Teatro Opera (officially called Opera Orbis Seguros for commercial advertising reasons), is located at 860 Avenida Corrientes in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is about 200 meters from the Obelisk of the city, which is a historical monument that was constructed in 1936. International artists such as Ava Gardner, Édith Piaf, Raffaella Carrà, Mina Mazzini, the Folies Bergère, Le Lido de París, Fairuz, and

114-462: A balustraded parapet . The principal block is flanked by two lower asymmetrical secondary wings that contribute picturesque massing, best appreciated from an angled view. The larger of these is divided from the principal block by the belvedere tower. The smaller, the ballroom block, is entered through a columned porte-cochère designed as a single storey prostyle portico . Many examples of this style are evident around Sydney and Melbourne, notably

171-569: A declining fashion." Anthony Salvin occasionally designed in the Italianate style, especially in Wales, at Hafod House, Carmarthenshire, and Penoyre House , Powys, described by Mark Girouard as "Salvin's most ambitious classical house." Thomas Cubitt , a London building contractor, incorporated simple classical lines of the Italianate style as defined by Sir Charles Barry into many of his London terraces. Cubitt designed Osborne House under

228-680: A dome adorned with an allegorical mural. In 1935, the Belgian architect Alberto Bourdon designed the current Teatro Ópera, with a characteristic Art Deco facade (inspired by the Rex cinema in Paris), with a capacity for 2,500 people, a stage suitable for various shows and a large cinema screen. In short, the Teatro Ópera is one of the most important at the building level in Buenos Aires, and one of

285-399: A modern cinema with a main floor and upper level. But the most remarkable thing about the venue was its decoration — to begin with, the ceiling of the room simulated a starry night sky that was lit before performances. As a totally unusual detail, the side walls of the stage were decorated with a design that simulated an Art Deco style city, with balconies, stairs, domes and windows, alluding to

342-721: A number of Italianate lighthouses and associated structures, chief among them being the Grosse Point Light in Evanston, Illinois . The Italianate style was immensely popular in Australia as a domestic style influencing the rapidly expanding suburbs of the 1870–1880s and providing rows of neat villas with low-pitched roofs, bay windows , tall windows and classical cornices. The architect William Wardell designed Government House in Melbourne —the official residence of

399-417: A privilege in Buenos Aires at the end of the 19th century. As soon as 1936, the widening of Corrientes street proved that the once narrow street would become an important avenue. Although the demolitions were carried out on the northside of the street and would have no effect on the theater building, the owner Clemente Lococo took advantage of the opportunity to construct a third and final opera house. In 1997,

456-613: A request for reports on the name change. This was based on a project presented by the Buenos Aires deputy Sergio Abrevaya, who had already presented a project for the theater to be cataloged with the Structural degree. Finally, on May 26, 2012, the Buenos Aires Legislature approved in a second and final reading a law that catalogs the theater with a level of structural protection, declares it a monument, and preserves its historical name: Teatro Opera. Since April 2014,

513-479: A work that, according to the postulates of contemporary architecture, or even those of academic architecture, is of mediocre quality. But the materials with which the building is built (the veneer of the doors, the carpentry), are of a level that disorients the observer. Analyze a bathroom in this cinema, its cladding, its facilities, its most intimate details, and it will be recognized that it would be worthy of appearing as an example of contemporary architecture (even in

570-707: Is an example of this further evolution of the style. As in Australia, the use of Italianate for public service offices took hold but using local materials like timber to create the illusion of stone. At the time it was built in 1856, the official residence of the Colonial Governor in Auckland was criticized for the dishonesty of making wood look like stone. The 1875 Old Government Buildings, Wellington are entirely constructed with local kauri timber, which has excellent properties for construction. ( Auckland developed later and preferred Gothic detailing.) As in

627-513: Is another important element — at night three large circular LED flood lights illuminate the sidewalk, constantly changing color. Inside the theater, the foyer is another impressive space, and no materials were spared in its design. Two imperial staircases lean against the dividing of the building, leading to two mezzanines which sport railings with a circular section of chromed iron (a material widely used in Art Deco architecture) and bronze caps at

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684-526: Is not very well known, but a clear example of Italianate architecture, is St. Christopher's Anglican church in Hinchley Wood , Surrey, particularly given the design of its bell tower . Portmeirion in Gwynedd , North Wales, is an architectural fantasy designed in a southern Italian Baroque style and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in a loose style of an Italian village. It

741-500: Is now owned by a charitable trust. Williams-Ellis incorporated fragments of demolished buildings, including works by a number of other architects. Portmeirion's architectural bricolage and deliberately fanciful nostalgia have been noted as an influence on the development of postmodernism in architecture in the late 20th century. The Italianate revival was comparatively less prevalent in Scottish architecture , examples include some of

798-637: The Medici . Upon his return to Lebanon in 1618, he began modernising Lebanon. He developed a silk industry, upgraded olive oil production, and brought with him numerous Italian engineers who began building mansions and civil buildings throughout the country. The cities of Beirut and Sidon were especially built in the Italianate style. The influence of these buildings, such as those in Deir el Qamar , influenced building in Lebanon for many centuries and continues to

855-560: The Old Treasury Building (1858), Leichhardt Town Hall (1888), Glebe Town Hall (1879) and the fine range of state and federal government offices facing the gardens in Treasury Place. No.2 Treasury Gardens (1874). This dignified, but not overly exuberant style for civil service offices contrasted with the grand and more formal statements of the classical styles used for Parliament buildings . The acceptance of

912-731: The Reform Club 1837–41 in Pall Mall represents a convincingly authentic pastiche of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, albeit in a 'Grecian' Ionic order in place of Michelangelo 's original Corinthian order . Although it has been claimed that one-third of early Victorian country houses in England used classical styles, mostly Italianate, by 1855 the style was falling from favour and Cliveden came to be regarded as "a declining essay in

969-755: The Tudor and Gothic styles at the Houses of Parliament in London, was a great promoter of the style. Unlike Nash, he found his inspiration in Italy itself. Barry drew heavily on the designs of the original Renaissance villas of Rome , the Lazio and the Veneto or as he put it: "...the charming character of the irregular villas of Italy." His most defining work in this style was the large Neo-Renaissance mansion Cliveden , while

1026-519: The United States , where it was promoted by the architect Alexander Jackson Davis . Key visual components of this style include: A late intimation of John Nash 's development of the Italianate style was his 1805 design of Sandridge Park at Stoke Gabriel in Devon . Commissioned by the dowager Lady Ashburton as a country retreat, this small country house clearly shows the transition between

1083-467: The governor of Victoria —as an example of his "newly discovered love for Italianate, Palladian and Venetian architecture ." Cream-colored, with many Palladian features, it would not be out of place among the unified streets and squares in Thomas Cubitt's Belgravia , London, except for its machicolated signorial tower that Wardell crowned with a belvedere . The hipped roof is concealed by

1140-544: The Civil War. Its popularity was due to being suitable for many different building materials and budgets, as well as the development of cast-iron and press-metal technology making the production more efficient of decorative elements such as brackets and cornices. However, the style was superseded in popularity in the late 1870s by the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. The popularity of Italianate architecture in

1197-596: The Deutsche Werkbund!) In 1997, the theater was remodeled to host productions of major Broadway and West End musicals. The work chosen for its reopening was Beauty and the Beast , followed by Les Misérables , Chicago , The Phantom of the Opera (2009, the revival of Beauty and the Beast (2010), The Sound of Music (2011), Mama Mia! (2012) and The Addams Family (2013). As a result of this remodeling, one of

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1254-710: The Italianate style for government offices was sustained well into the 20th century when, in 1912, John Smith Murdoch designed the Commonwealth Office Buildings as a sympathetic addition to this precinct to form a stylistically unified terrace overlooking the gardens. The Italianate style of architecture continued to be built in outposts of the British Empire long after it had ceased to be fashionable in Britain itself. The Albury railway station in regional New South Wales , completed in 1881,

1311-545: The Italianate style in England tend to take the form of Palladian -style building often enhanced by a belvedere tower complete with Renaissance -type balustrading at the roof level. This is generally a more stylistic interpretation of what architects and patrons imagined to be the case in Italy, and utilises more obviously the Italian Renaissance motifs than those earlier examples of the Italianate style by Nash. Sir Charles Barry , most notable for his works on

1368-776: The Italianate style, such as the James Lick Mansion , John Muir Mansion , and Bidwell Mansion , before later Stick-Eastlake and Queen Anne styles superseded. Many, nicknamed Painted Ladies , remain and are celebrated in San Francisco . A late example in masonry is the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Los Angeles . Additionally, the United States Lighthouse Board , through the work of Colonel Orlando M. Poe , produced

1425-792: The United States, the timber construction common in New Zealand allowed this popular style to be rendered in domestic buildings, such as Antrim House in Wellington, and Westoe Farm House in Rangitikei (1874), as well as rendered brick at "The Pah" in Auckland (1880). On a more domestic scale, the suburbs of cities like Dunedin and Wellington spread out with modest but handsome suburban villas with Italianate details, such as low-pitched roofs, tall windows, corner quoins , and stone detailing, all rendered in wood. A good example

1482-494: The architect Sir Charles Barry in the 1830s. Barry's Italianate style (occasionally termed "Barryesque") drew heavily for its motifs on the buildings of the Italian Renaissance , though sometimes at odds with Nash's semi-rustic Italianate villas. The style was employed in varying forms abroad long after its decline in popularity in Britain. For example, from the late 1840s to 1890, it achieved huge popularity in

1539-564: The band R5 have performed in this theater. Local artists perform as well such as Los Abuelos de la Nada, who recorded their live album here, and the Ariel Ramírez Folklore Company, who performed with Jaime Torres and Las Voces Blancas at the premier of the movie “Crónica para un futuro,” in 1967. This film was the precursor to the false documentary genre. The origin of the theater dates back to 1870, when businessman Antonio Pestalardo envisioned that Corrientes, which at

1596-544: The best examples of Art Deco architecture in the city — this was despite the fact that Art Deco had largely ceased to be avant-garde at the time of the theatre's construction. Its facade is imposing, sporting a central volume with curved lines, columns and numerous elongated windows, which ends in a stepped tower which gives the building its signature look. At each end, the front is covered in black granite, with borders of glass etched with concentric semicircular patterns that are very characteristic of Art Deco decoration. The marquee

1653-524: The building. According to various accounts, the Pestalardo's Opera Theater was built using the plans that Landois had drawn in 1855 for a project for the Teatro Colón that was ultimately not completed. When Robert Cano took charge of the Ópera, he ordered the total remodeling of the building, a project assigned to prestigious Belgian architect Julio Dormal (who also was involved of the design of

1710-480: The current Teatro Colón), who designed a new exterior that discarded the atrium of the original building, in accordance with the private property line. It was a much more ornate design than the previous one. Designed in the Beaux-Arts style, it featured elaborate moldings and abundant textures crafted on the columns and other surfaces. A finishing pedestal at the top of the building included a statue which dominated

1767-513: The design of the facade. In the foyer of the theater, designed by Dormal, the opulence continued with the ornate decoration displayed both in the elaborate artesonado , as well as in the moldings, wallpaper, and the ceramic tiles on the floors. Intricate iron chandeliers illuminated the entire lobby, which featured numerous individual wooden chairs with red velvet and matching draperies at all openings. The hall resembled characteristic Italian theater, with five opera boxes, an immense chandelier, and

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1824-426: The direction of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , and it is Cubitt's reworking of his two-dimensional street architecture into this freestanding mansion which was to be the inspiration for countless Italianate villas throughout the British Empire. Following the completion of Osborne House in 1851, the style became a popular choice of design for the small mansions built by the new and wealthy industrialists of

1881-578: The early work of Alexander Thomson ("Greek" Thomson) and buildings such as the west side of George Square . The Italian, specifically Tuscan, influence on architecture in Lebanon dates back to the Renaissance when Fakhreddine , the first Lebanese ruler who truly unified Mount Lebanon with its Mediterranean coast, executed an ambitious plan to develop his country. When the Ottomans exiled Fakhreddine to Tuscany in 1613, he entered an alliance with

1938-411: The ends. The walls are covered in black granite and images are inlaid in the floor different types of colored marble. The floors of the mezzanines outline a succession of semicircles that match the large flood light that illuminates the hall. The original hall of the Teatro Ópera was totally revolutionary for its time. It completely moved away from the typical Italian-style theater of the old building, to

1995-425: The era. These were mostly built in cities surrounded by large but not extensive gardens, often laid out in a terrace Tuscan style as well. On occasions very similar, if not identical, designs to these Italianate villas would be topped by mansard roofs , and then termed chateauesque . However, "after a modest spate of Italianate villas, and French chateaux" by 1855 the most favoured style of an English country house

2052-401: The functional needs of a cinema, but its interior space is covered with a series of inadequate scenographic decorations, culminating in an incredible ceiling with stars and nebulae (!). The entrance hall and its respective mezzanines "integrate" with the layout of the room, resulting in a strange display of decorative forms and materials. The exterior facade reflects the same spirit and results in

2109-524: The ground, or even flat roofs with a wide projection. A tower is often incorporated hinting at the Italian belvedere or even campanile tower. Motifs drawn from the Italianate style were incorporated into the commercial builders' repertoire and appear in Victorian architecture dating from the mid-to-late 19th century. This architectural style became more popular than Greek Revival by the beginning of

2166-407: The intense nightlife of Buenos Aires in the years 1930 and especially on Corrientes Avenue , known in those years as "the street that never sleeps". The architect Carlos Méndez Mosquera, a follower of the modern architecture movement , made harsh criticism of its aesthetics, although he recognized the quality of its construction: The architectural proposal is formally absurd. Of course it fulfills

2223-461: The name Teatro Opera) shared that new brand, which our global policy brand did not accept.” Later, the famous Argentinian actresses Susana Giménez and Mirtha Legrand joined the criticism on their television program in the first week of May. Enrique Pinti y Antonio Gasalla also joined the protests. The owners then changed the name to Opera Citi. Meanwhile, in May 2010, the Buenos Aires Legislature voted on

2280-489: The past according to his own nature." The Italianate style was first developed in Britain in about 1802 by John Nash , with the construction of Cronkhill in Shropshire . This small country house is generally accepted to be the first Italianate villa in England, from which is derived the Italianate architecture of the late Regency and early Victorian eras. The Italianate style was further developed and popularised by

2337-450: The picturesque of William Gilpin and Nash's yet to be fully evolved Italianism. While this house can still be described as Regency , its informal asymmetrical plan together with its loggias and balconies of both stone and wrought iron; tower and low pitched roof clearly are very similar to the fully Italianate design of Cronkhill , the house generally considered to be the first example of the Italianate style in Britain. Later examples of

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2394-423: The present time. For example, streets like Rue Gouraud continue to have numerous, historic houses with Italianate influence. The Italianate style was popularized in the United States by Alexander Jackson Davis in the 1840s as an alternative to Gothic or Greek Revival styles. Davis' design for Blandwood is the oldest surviving example of Italianate architecture in the United States, constructed in 1844 as

2451-428: The preservation of this impressive collection, with large-scale renovation efforts beginning to repair urban blight. Cincinnati's neighbouring cities of Newport and Covington, Kentucky also contain an impressive collection of Italianate architecture. The Garden District of New Orleans features examples of the Italianate style, including: In California, the earliest Victorian residences were wooden versions of

2508-469: The residence of North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead . It is an early example of Italianate architecture, closer in ethos to the Italianate works of Nash than the more Renaissance-inspired designs of Barry. Davis' 1854 Litchfield Villa in Prospect Park, Brooklyn is an example of the style. It was initially referred to as the "Italian Villa" or "Tuscan Villa" style. Richard Upjohn used

2565-427: The restitution of the name. There were more than 3500 adherents in the first 6 days. Citi had to open an opinion forum on their Facebook page, receiving dozens of messages every day questioning the name change. Witnessing the frustration caused by their marketing operation on their own Facebook page, the bank responded: “Addressing the challenge of enhancing the value of the building involved a significant investment that

2622-563: The sponsoring brand is no longer Citibank and became the Allianz group instead, thus its new name became Teatro Opera Allianz. In July 2017, T4F, the entertainment and production company and owner of Teatro Opera, signed a commercial and advertising agreement for four years with the firm Orbis Seguros. This launched the Opera Orbis Seguros brand which is still the name today. The first Opera House (1872), managed by Pestalarado,

2679-635: The style extensively, beginning in 1845 with the Edward King House . Other leading practitioners of the style were John Notman and Henry Austin . Notman designed "Riverside" in 1837, the first "Italian Villa" style house in Burlington, New Jersey (now destroyed). Italianate was reinterpreted to become an indigenous style. It is distinctive by its pronounced exaggeration of many Italian Renaissance characteristics: emphatic eaves supported by corbels , low-pitched roofs barely discernible from

2736-445: The theater was acquired by the private events company Time for Fun (T4F). In 2010, CitiBank bought the rights to Teatro Opera for three years from T4F, and carried out restoration work on the façade and interior, and added new lighting. In exchange, the name Teatro Citi was imposed on the building, which aroused rejection not only from a large number of neighbors, but also local newspaper columnists and civil foundations. The name change

2793-669: The time period following 1845 can be seen in Cincinnati, Ohio , the United States' first boomtown west of the Appalachian Mountains . This city, which grew along with the traffic on the Ohio River , features arguably the largest single collection of Italianate buildings in the United States in its Over-the-Rhine neighbourhood, built primarily by German-American immigrants that lived in the densely populated area. In recent years, increased attention has been called to

2850-470: The time was still a narrow street far from the center of Buenos Aires, would be brought to life by the installation of theaters. His project faced many obstacles, as the yellow fever epidemic broke out the following year. To make matters worse, the city's port was closed, which blocked the entry of materials that were needed for construction. Finally, Pestalardo achieved his goal and thus the Teatro Opera

2907-522: The wonders of the interior of the room was lost forever — the ceiling that simulated a starry sky (an allusion to the stars on the screen) and part of the decoration on the sides of the room. Film previews and cultural meetings are held in the basement room known as the Petit Ópera. 34°36′13.5″S 58°22′44.2″W  /  34.603750°S 58.378944°W  / -34.603750; -58.378944 Italianate architecture The Italianate style

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2964-481: Was Gothic, Tudor, or Elizabethan. The Italianate style came to the small town of Newton Abbot and the village of Starcross in Devon, with Isambard Brunel's atmospheric railway pumping houses. The style was later used by Humphrey Abberley and Joseph Rowell, who designed a large number of houses, with the new railway station as the focal point, for Lord Courtenay, who saw the potential of the railway age. An example that

3021-546: Was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture . Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism , the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture with picturesque aesthetics. The resulting style of architecture was essentially of its own time. "The backward look transforms its object," Siegfried Giedion wrote of historicist architectural styles; "every spectator at every period—at every moment, indeed—inevitably transforms

3078-407: Was born. It was originally dedicated to the lyrical genre and was inaugurated on May 25, 1872, with the opera Il Trovatore. It was the first theater to have gas lighting, which was unusual for the time. In 1889 the building underwent a total remodeling financed by its new owner Don Roberto Cano. Rufino Varela installed an electric power plant in the new building which allowed it to be self-sufficient,

3135-476: Was considered an illegal operation, since the building is protected by laws 1227, 2548, and 3056 of Cultural Heritage. Additionally, the building was constructed before 1941, which requires a binding consultation with the Advisory Council on Heritage Affairs. This did not happen, so the restoration itself entered the realm of illegality. The operation generated an immediate response on Facebook, demanding

3192-401: Was designed by architect Emile Landois. It had an Italianate facade which was drawn with respect to the public property line, resulting in a small atrium without a marquee , adorned by iron lanterns and with five wooden gates that led to the foyer . It was a simple front, which stood out only for the four Corinthian columns that supported the top (similar to a pediment ) which completed

3249-453: Was only justified by a substantial sponsorship of the theater. The one that best suited the required values was “naming sponsor.” Once that decision was made, we were left with a difficult choice: keep the original name (with a compound alternative, such as Opera Citi, for example), or not use it. We evaluated the different options, and although we were intrigued by the compound name, it implied that two different companies (Citi and T4F, owners of

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