Teatro Roma, Opera house in Avellaneda, Argentina.
Teatro Roma is a municipal lyric theater at Sarmiento 109 in Avellaneda, Argentina, designed by architect Primitivo Gamba in an Italian Renaissance style inspired by European opera houses of the golden age. Its facade opens onto a hall crowned by a dome painted in fresco with allegories by Antonio Epifani, from whose center a bronze chandelier with glass tulips lights the room. The building stands on two lots adjoining the seat of the Sociedad Italiana, which is integrated into the complex.
The theater opened in 1904 and quickly became a central part of life in Avellaneda, a city that was growing fast at the time. Over the decades, it went through renovations that updated its interior while keeping its original character.
The theater's name comes from the Italian community that founded it, and its stage hosted Carlos Gardel's last performance in Argentina. Its programming ranges from opera and zarzuela to tango, jazz, Celtic music, and ballet, with performers such as Alfredo Alcón, Lolita Torres, and China Zorrilla.
The theater stands at Sarmiento 109 in Avellaneda, on the same block as the former seat of the Sociedad Italiana, whose building is now part of the complex. The hall was restored in 2015 with its original paint colors kept, so the interior seen today follows that restoration.
The building holds the status of a National Historic Site, a designation rarely given to theaters outside Buenos Aires. This recognition places it among a small number of performance venues considered part of Argentina's broader story.
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