Avenida Theatre

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The Avenida Theatre (Teatro Avenida) is a historic theatre in Buenos Aires, on Avenida de Mayo. It opened in 1908 with Lope de Vega’s Justice Without Revenge, directed by María Guerrero, who helped popularize classical drama in Argentina. It became the main venue for Spanish theatre after the Cervantes Theatre became the National Comedy Theatre in 1933, with Lorca’s Bodas de Sangre staged there that year. The Avenida was known for operettas and zarzuelas and hosted special events, such as a 1939 Aida performance for Spanish charities after the Civil War. After 1960, Spanish theatre declined and the Avenida shifted to Broadway productions, including Kiss Me, Kate in 1963. It also staged Verdi’s La Traviata in 1967, and after Faustino García bought the theatre, Moreno Torroba returned in 1970, reviving the zarzuela that decade. The 1976 military dictatorship cut theatre activity, and the Avenida closed in 1977. A 1979 fire almost destroyed it, and it stayed closed until reopening on 19 June 1994. The top section, including the former Hotel Castilla, was not rebuilt. When Teatro Colón closed for refurbishment in 2006, the Avenida revived classical opera programming, with Buenos Aires Lírica and Juventus Lírica presenting productions such as Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Bizet’s Carmen, Verdi’s Aida and La Traviata, Mozart’s The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro, and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.