Teatro Solís

A group of Montevideo citizens formed a company in 1840 to build a theatre worthy of the city. The Italian architect Carlo Zucchi drew up the design, which Francisco Javier de Garmendia adapted to the finances of a country at war. Work began in 1842 but stopped in 1843 when General Manuel Oribe's army laid siege to Montevideo; the committee stored the materials already shipped from Europe, including Siberian timber, Italian marble capitals and roofing slate. The theatre, named after the navigator Juan Díaz de Solís, opened on 25 August 1856 with Verdi's Ernani, although its side wings were only added between 1869 and 1874.

Later works brought a French metal roof in 1881, a wider stage in 1882 and ceiling paintings by Carlos María Herrera and Pío Collivadino in 1908. Singers including Francesco Tamagno and Enrico Caruso and actors from Sarah Bernhardt to Vivien Leigh appeared on its stage, and Tomás Giribaldi's La Parisina, considered the first Uruguayan national opera, premiered here in 1878. The city government bought the theatre in 1937. After it closed in 1998, a major reconstruction, which included two columns designed by Philippe Starck, was completed with the reopening in 2004.

The Solís is run by the city of Montevideo and is closely tied to its public cultural life, with resident drama, orchestral and band companies and a programme aimed at a wide audience. School groups make up a large share of tour visitors, and for many children the visit is their first encounter with the city's main performing arts venue.