History
Rosalía de Castro Theater (1900–1910)
Located in the heart of the Olívica city, construction began at the end of the 19th century , thanks to a group of enthusiastic Vigo residents eager to introduce theatrical culture, who undertook the task of building a theater. After years of economic problems, the theater was inaugurated on July 15, 1900, taking the name of Teatro Rosalía de Castro and its first performance being the opera Aída .
During the years after its inauguration and after a time of economic failure, the theater went bankrupt, becoming a warehouse for a short period of time until, by popular request, the benefactor José García Barbón recovered the building and reused it for the performance of theatrical works.
On February 8, 1910, after a Shrove Tuesday performance , a fire completely burned down the building, leaving the city again without a theater.
Current building (1927-act.)
Three years later, thanks to José García Barbón's nieces who decided to continue their uncle's work, the Galician architect Antonio Palacios would be in charge of executing the construction of a new building. This new project would give the building a great deal of space, occupying the entire area of ??the previous theater plus two adjoining buildings. The building has a style classified as neo- baroque , within the modernist current of the early 20th century, inspired by the Paris Opera , by Charles Garnier , and the Arriaga theater in Bilbao.
The new theater was inaugurated on April 23, 1927, with the name of Teatro García Barbón. The new building not only performed the theater function but also consisted of different areas:
The theater itself, intended for large performances of opera , zarzuela , comedy , concerts , society dances, plays, etc.
The auditorium, also called Sala Rosalía de Castro, dedicated to cinema , small theater performances, concerts and popular dances.
The casino , with a large hall-lobby, honor staircase, lounge-foyer (where, under Royal Decree-Law 16/1977 of February 25 and within that same year, the first bingo in Vigo was installed. Being active for several years), restaurant, etc.
During the 1970s, the then Municipal Savings Bank of Vigo bought the building with the idea of ??creating an important cultural reference at the national level, investing more than 1,000 million of the old pesetas (about 6 million euros) in the rehabilitation, which was commissioned by the architect Desiderio Pernas .
Some of the main changes carried out during this rehabilitation were: the construction of a space in the upper part of the building where there is a library with more than 280 reading seats, the expansion of the theater by more than 1,100 seats and the creation of an exhibition area.
In subsequent years, the official name of the theater would change depending on its owner: Caixanova , Novacaixagalicia, Novagalicia and finally Afundación , the latter under the patronage of Abanca .
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