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<strong>Buenos</strong> <strong>Aires</strong>’ <strong>Top</strong> <strong>10</strong><br />
12<br />
Teatro Colón<br />
For its sheer size, near-perfect acoustics, and stately elegance, the Teatro<br />
Colón ranks among the world’s top opera houses. Yet for Porteños, the Neo-<br />
Classical structure represents far more. “Rich as an Argentine” was a phrase<br />
regularly heard on the streets of New York and Paris around the theater’s<br />
1908 completion, and to experience the Colón’s grandeur is to visit that<br />
bygone era. Tales of the theater’s construction read like a Verdi libretto. The<br />
theater’s current renovation, once complete, will see La Sala’s balcones and<br />
palcos fill up every night, as they have for more than <strong>10</strong>0 years.<br />
Façade of Teatro Colón<br />
Check ahead for<br />
El Colón por Dos<br />
Pesos concert<br />
program, when<br />
select seats are<br />
available at an<br />
absurd 2 pesos.<br />
Grab a cappuccino<br />
and dessert at<br />
El Petit Colón<br />
confitería (see p57).<br />
• Map P5<br />
• Cerrito, btwn Tucumán<br />
& Viamonte • 4378-7344<br />
• Closed for renovation<br />
until 20<strong>10</strong><br />
• Adm (varies)<br />
• English-language<br />
tours: 11am & 3pm<br />
Mon–Fri; 9am, 11am,<br />
3pm Sat; 11am, 1pm,<br />
3pm Sun (reservations<br />
for English-language<br />
tours strongly<br />
recommended);<br />
tour US$4 • www.<br />
teatrocolon.org.ar<br />
<strong>Top</strong> <strong>10</strong> Features<br />
1 Entrance Hall<br />
2 El Salón de Bustos &<br />
El Salón Dorado<br />
3 Official Boxes<br />
4 Vitreaux<br />
5 La Sala<br />
6 El Paraíso<br />
7 Library<br />
8 La Cúpula<br />
9 Pasaje de los Carruajes<br />
0 Workshops<br />
! Entrance Hall<br />
Neo-Romanesque<br />
colonnades and a dazzling<br />
Belle Époque stained-glass<br />
dome distinguish the<br />
Colón’s entrance hall<br />
(below). Four kinds of<br />
European marble were<br />
employed in the foyer’s<br />
construction, indicating how<br />
highly prized Old World<br />
materials and craftsmanship<br />
were in the design.<br />
El Salón de Bustos<br />
@ & El Salón Dorado<br />
Busts of Wagner, Rossini,<br />
and Beethoven keep watch<br />
over theatergoers passing<br />
in the entrance hall below.<br />
The Golden Salon is<br />
Versailles-worthy Baroque.<br />
Chamber-music concerts<br />
and special exhibitions are<br />
held here.<br />
# Official Boxes<br />
Reached via El Salón<br />
de Bustos, these palcos<br />
are reserved for dignitaries,<br />
the president, and<br />
the municipal governor.<br />
Most porteños say that<br />
much politicking occurs<br />
in these boxes, which are<br />
accessible to the public<br />
on guided tours.
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