Teatro Opera, Art Deco theater on Corrientes Avenue, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Teatro Opera is a theater on Avenida Corrientes in Buenos Aires, with an Art Deco facade dating from the 1930s. The auditorium rises through several tiers and holds around 2500 seats offering different views of the stage.

The house opened in the second half of the 19th century and was among the first theaters in the city to use gas lighting. A few years later, an electric power plant was added, modernizing the lighting and raising the technical standard of the stage.

The theater's name was at the center of a 2010 dispute: when Citibank bought naming rights and rebranded it Teatro Citi, neighbors, columnists and actors Susana Giménez and Mirtha Legrand protested. In 2012 the Buenos Aires Legislature passed a law preserving the historical name Teatro Ópera and granting the building structural protection.

The theater stands about 200 meters west of the Obelisk on Avenida Corrientes, one of the main streets downtown. Seating areas are spread over several floors, so visitors experience different heights and distances from the stage depending on ticket category.

The theater's name survived a legal fight: when Citibank bought naming rights in 2010, protests led by figures such as Susana Giménez and Mirtha Legrand pushed the Buenos Aires Legislature to pass a 2012 law declaring the building a monument and preserving the name Teatro Ópera. The 1936 facade has stacked fan-shaped motifs in dark vertical panels.