The Palacio de Bellas Artes, on the western edge of Mexico City's historic centre near the Alameda Central park, replaced the demolished National Theatre. Italian architect Adamo Boari began construction in 1904 for the centenary of independence in 1910, but the soft subsoil and the Mexican Revolution brought work to a halt by 1913. Federico Mariscal completed the building from 1932, and it was inaugurated on 29 November 1934. The exterior is mainly Art Nouveau and Neoclassical, the interior Art Deco. It is known for murals by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Rufino Tamayo, and for a stage curtain made by Tiffany from nearly a million pieces of glass, depicting the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. Maria Callas sang Norma here in 1950; the Ballet Folklórico de México performs here regularly.
The Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, opened in 1934, houses murals by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros — a unique collection of Mexican muralism in a single building.
At a glance
- Type
- Multi-genre theatre
- Location
- Mexiko-Stadt, Mexico
More venues in Mexico
- Teatro Degollado · Opera house, Guadalajara