São João National Theatre
Encyclopedia
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. It is located in Batalha Square
Batalha Square
Batalha Square is a historical public square located in the city of Porto, in Portugal.According to tradition, the name batalha comes from a 10th-century battle fought between the Moorish forces of Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir and the inhabitants of Porto, which resulted in the defeat of the latter...
, in the historical centre of the city.
The history of the theatre begins in 1794, when the main authority of Porto, Francisco de Almada e Mendonça, encharged Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
architect Vicente Mazzoneschi with the project for an opera house. The original theatre was built between 1796 and 1798 and was named São João (St John) in honour of Prince-regent João, later crowned king as John VI of Portugal
John VI of Portugal
John VI John VI John VI (full name: João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael; (13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826) was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (later changed to just King of Portugal and the Algarves, after Brazil was recognized...
. The interior of the theatre was similar to São Carlos Theatre of Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, built a little earlier.
The first São João Theatre was destroyed by a fire in 1908. A rebuilding project started in 1911 under the direction of Porto architect José Marques da Silva
José Marques da Silva
José Marques da Silva was a portuguese architect .-Training:José Marques da Silva was born at 113 Rua de Costa Cabral, in Porto, on 18 October 1869. His architectural training began at the Porto Academy of Fine Arts, where his teachers were, among others, António Geraldes da Silva Sardinha,...
. The inner concert hall is horseshoe-shaped and has a ceiling painted by artists José de Brito and Acácio Lino, while the entrance hall is decorated with sculptural work by Henrique Araújo Moreira, Diogo de Macedo and José Fernandes de Sousa Caldas. On the main façade, of sober design, there are four reliefs representing four feelings: Kindness
Kindness
Kindness is the act or the state of being kind, being marked by good and charitable behaviour, pleasant disposition, and concern for others. It is known as a virtue, and recognized as a value in many cultures and religions ....
, Pain
Suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
, Hatred
Hatred
Hatred is a deep and emotional extreme dislike, directed against a certain object or class of objects. The objects of such hatred can vary widely, from inanimate objects to animals, oneself or other people, entire groups of people, people in general, existence, or the whole world...
and Love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
, created by Diogo de Macedo and Sousa Caldas.
The new theatre was finished in 1918 but was reinaugurated only in 1920, with Verdi's Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
. Initially, the theatre was dedicated to opera and theatre, but after 1932 it was turned into a cinema. Only in 1992, when it was bought by the Portuguese government, was the theatre completely restored to its former glory and renamed São João National Theatre. It is nowadays the main theatre venue in the city and one of the most important in the country.