Day 9: Teatro Municipal- Cultural

Teatro Municipal from outside.

     Today, was a day of the arts. We woke up and dressed in our 'Sunday Best', anxious for the day ahead of us. The place we would be spending,  our whole day at, was Teatro Municipal (a theater, opera, and ballet house). We quickly had breakfast at the hotel buffet,as we were running a little late, and raced off in our taxi to the extravagant theater house.
     Teatro Municipal is located in a large public square in Rio, called Cinelandia. This is a popular location for people to congregate.When the taxi moved into the square with many historical buildings around, the cabbie told us we had arrived and we exited out onto the street. We all underestimated how the theater would look. It seemed to have stepped right out of an antique store and was looming over us. The large pillars gave the theater an archaic look, as it towered over the town square. The building was virtually symmetrical, except for a golden eagle on the roof, with statues placed in specific places near it. We entered and we were immediately met with the sight of a grand staircase, stationed right in front of us. Surrounded by a bronze railing, the steps were covered in the middle with a red carpet, flaring out at the end. Above us, the ceiling featured a beautiful stained skylight, allowing the sun to shine down on us. After taking some pictures we discovered that it was time for the concert and rushed up the stairs to find our seats.

Grand Staircase at the entrance of Teatro Municipal

      Our seats were located in the Gallery, the highest balcony seats, and it was absolutely breathtaking as we entered. The stage was framed with a golden arch, looking like a piece of embroidery, with the orchestra pit right underneath. A dome thundered above us, with the center holding a bright chandelier, surrounded by a kaleidoscope of paintings, put together as one mosaic. Hundreds upon hundreds of chairs were lined up in each section of the theater, with excited people seated in them. A certain buzz seemed to fill the air as the players, apart of the concert, began to file onto the stage. Seconds later, the lights dimmed around us as the stage became illuminated. Music suddenly filled the air as the performers moved with aggressiveness across their instruments. Before we knew it, it was done and we all jumped up, giving off deafening claps for everyone to hear.

Orchestra on Teatro Municipal Stage

     We decided that after the beautiful concert, we would like to know more about the theater we were in and wanted to go on a public tour around the place. The theater was a magnificent palace inspired by Paris Opera of Charles Garnier. A French architect, Albert Guilbert, and a brazilian architect, Francisco Franco Pereira Passos, were the ones to design and help build the theater, where they included Neoclassical columns, busts, ceiling frescoes, and much more. Municipal also contains chandeliers and statues, like the one statue of Diana the Huntress that was built by Victor Brechet (One of Brazil's most famous sculptors). Some other visual highlights were paintings by Francisco Franco Pereira Passos, with other sculptures also found around the building by Henrique Bernardelli. Overall, this place has so much history to it, with it being opened up in 1909, and it is an extremely important place to witness Brazil's cultural side
through dance and orchestra.

From second level of Confeitaria Colombo

    After the one hour tour, we all decided that all of us would eat at this time and so we walked around the square, until we found Confeitaria Colombo and decided to eat there. It was huge restaurant, as it had two levels, with seating set outside where you could look out into the ocean and watch its waves crash onto the shore. The place was surrounded by mirrors, which gave it a really cool symmetrical look and it also made it very easy to take selfies! We all decided on getting sandwiches and to share a scrumptious brownie dessert, that consisted of a hot brownie with ice cream on top.
    Before leaving, we had purchased tickets for all of us to go to a ballet, that was said to be, "one of the most amazing adventures we will ever take." Our seats were still set in the Gallery, but this time we were more towards the middle and had a fantastic view of the theater. At that moment the lights around us began to dim, while we waited anxiously to see this so-called 'amazing' performance.

Henrique Bernardelli

Henrique Bernardelli

Dancers dancing in front of Kings and Queens

    The stage lights brightened and a lone ballerina stood center stage. The music began quietly as she gracefully moved around the stage, gathering the attention of all of those that set their eyes on her. She was joined by a man who seemed to be lost or confused, until he set his eyes on her, and this gave us all a clue that this was about a love story. Others joined the stage, as the two lovers soon got separated in the midst. The scene ultimately changed and now the once lost ballerina was in front of judges or kings/queens. The man she was dancing with was not the one she loved, but the King and Queen continued to look at them, until they finally stopped the dancing couple and nodded. From our seats, we had trouble seeing most of this and so we were all very confused on what was going on. Intermission was held shortly after and while we all mingled with others, we were able to figure out that the ballerina is now pledged to marry the other guy.The ballet continued on as planned, with the two love-birds finding a way to be together in the end. With their wedding taking place, the show ended happily-ever-after. All the dancers came on stage and bowed as they received a well deserved smattering of applause.

Teatro Municipal view from the taxi

      We slowly excited from the theater, as it seemed to be during rush hour, and called for a Taxi. We looked behind us at the magnificent theater and were so thankful for the opportunity to go there. The day was full of cultural fun and the theater felt like a Brazilian version of day where you would go and relax, in America, by watching a movie. When we arrived at the hotel, even though it was only around eight, we started getting ready to sleep. We knew that we were jam packed for tomorrow and so we all decided that taking an  early night would be the best, to help us stay focused for tomorrow. All of our dreams were took us to knew places, as we all pondered on what other beauties we would see in Brazil.