Located in the capital city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Teatro Colon, named after the Italian explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus or Cristobal Colon in Spanish, is a majestic and sprawling opera house, ranked on par with Palais Garnier in Paris, Teatro alla Scala or simply La Scala in Milan, Wiener Staatsoper or The Vienna State Opera in Austria, and the Royal Opera House in London. Intimately woven into the history of the country, it has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in Argentina's cultural and political history. Initially located in front of Plaza de Mayo, opposite to Casa Rosada, Teatro Colon was inaugurated in 1857, and continued as the cultural hub of Buenos Aires for more than 30 years, until it closed its doors in September of 1888 to give way to an even more majestic structure, capable of accommodating a whopping number of 2487 guests. Foundation stone of the new building was laid in 1890 and almost after 20 years, the striking building, located close to the Obelisk, along 9 de Julio Avenue, was inaugurated on 25 May 1908.

However, a full restoration project of the nearly century old edifice was undertaken in 2006, and after the completion of the project, it was reopened on 24 May 2010, in commemoration of the Bicentennial of Argentina.

It all began in 1821, when Bernardino Rivadavia, a man very much influenced by European culture, was appointed Minister of the Province of Buenos Aires. He strongly believed that for modernization and sophistication, Buenos Aires should follow the examples of the global cities like Paris and London. As opera was considered important for the refined tastes in Europe during those days, he decided to introduce theatre and opera in the life of the city people, which they lacked.

Consequently, the imposing structure of the first Teatro Colon, the first iron-framed building in the country, designed by the architect and photographer Charles Henri Pellegrini, equipped with a horseshoe-shaped interior design and a separate gallery reserved only for people who were in mourning, was opened for the public in April 1857. To the delight of the guests, the building also had a typical air conditioning system of its own. Beneath the floor of the hall, massive blocks of ice, shipped up from the colder regions to the south, were stored in a chamber, so that the audience could enjoy the show in a comfortably cool setting.

The present Teatro Colón, the second with the same name, the cornerstone of which was laid in 1890, was designed in the Italian style on a scale and with amenities that matched those in Europe, by the architects Francesco Tamburini and his pupil Victor Meano. The authorities had the plan to inaugurate the new theatre in 1892, for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in America.

But the project was delayed due to various reasons, which include financial difficulties, the sudden and untimely death of Tamburini in 1891, the shocking murder of Meano in 1904, and the death of Angelo Ferrari, an Italian businessman, as well as the financier of the project. Ultimately, the authorities commissioned the Belgian architect Julio Dormal, who completed the building with some changes in the structure, and added French style decoration in it. While the bas-reliefs and busts on the facade were created by the Italian sculptor Luigi Trinchero, the dome had paintings by the French artist Marcel Jambon, which were deteriorated in the 1930s, and were replaced by the Argentine painter Raúl Soldi in the 1960s.

Although the amazing façade of the building, with the iron canopy, facing the 9 de Julio Avenue seems to be the main entrance, the main entrance is in on the opposite side, on Libertad Street, just in front of Lavalle square. The foyer, embellished with stained glass ceiling, depicting feminine figures of Apollo’s muses, surrounded by colours and flowers, playing musical instruments or dancing, is simply amazing, while the grand marble staircase, a jewel on its own, leads to the main auditorium. The long Golden Hall, with its walls plastered with 22-carat gold gilding, and decorated with two huge chandeliers, was once the preferred meeting place of the guests, and now used for chamber music concerts. There is also a nice corridor with entrances to smaller halls, known as the Hall of Busts, which contains amazing busts of important and renowned composers, placed above each doorway.

The horseshoe-shaped auditorium of Teatro Colon, with the capacity of 2487 seats and around 500 people standing, distributed in 7 levels, and a stage which is around 65 feet (20 m) wide, 49 feet (15 m) high and 65 feet (20 m) deep, is considered as one of the most important lyrical halls in the world. Its huge central chandelier, built in Europe and weighing more than a ton, creates a gorgeous effect with its 700 light bulbs. and the orchestra pit of the hall has a capacity for 120 musicians. However, the most important characteristics of the hall, which makes it renowned around the world, is its almost flawless acoustics, which was achieved by the combination of different details, which include its horseshoe shape, that allows the sound to be reflected, creating the whole auditorium turned into an echo chamber.

The imposing building of Teatro Colon, with 6 floors above the ground and 3 below, occupying an entire city block, is one of the popular landmarks of the city of Buenos Aires, as well as the main venue for performing arts, which includes opera, ballet and classical music, with astounding acoustics. It underwent a massive refurbishment, a phased remodelling of both interior and exterior that began in 2005. Initially, the hall was open during the work, but subsequently, production activities ceased at the end of December 2006 to allow full refurbishment. Although it was planned to reopen the opera house in time for its centenary on 25 May 2008, it was delayed for various reasons and ultimately, the house was finally reopened with a gala concert and 3D animations on 24 May 2010, the eve of its own 102nd birthday, as well as the Argentina Bicentennial.