Teatro Español

An important part of the history of the city of Madrid, the Teatro Español began life as a medieval open-air theatre that presented small theatrical events. It was always open to all kinds of dramatic arts, and the theatre’s stage hosted the premieres of works that would go on to become great literary classics..

Audiences were enjoying shows on the site where the Teatro Español now stands as far back as the middle of the 16th century. First there was the legendary Corral de la Pacheca, which was occasionally leased out to the ancient Guilds of La Soledad and La Pasión, which used it to raise funds for the construction and maintenance of the Villa and Corte hospitals. Some years later, in 1582, work began on the more permanent Corral del Príncipe, which opened its doors to the public on 21 September 1583.

An extra floor was added in 1600 and a further two between 1627 and 1636, which also included some separate seating areas along the sides, the forerunners to today’s individual boxes. With four doors and a façade measuring barely 13 metres across, the theatre offered ordinary seating for about 320 people and galleries and individual seating areas for 100 or so nobles, priests and public figures. Another 500 would stand throughout the three hours or more that the show would last, a retractable canvas providing their only shelter.

In 1735, Pedro de Ribera became the first person to draw a reliable plan of the Corral as it was at the time, when the local council had decided to knock it down and replace it with the Coliseo del Príncipe. The building would now have a proper roof, though this did not prevent Moratín from dubbing it “an unseemly home for the Spanish Muses” several years later. The new building was designed by Juan Bautista Sachetti and completed by Ventura Rodríguez, and in 1746 it opened its doors to the chorizos, the name given to the theatregoers who supported the theatre and the shows it staged. At the end of the 18th century, the loyalties of theatre audiences were sharply divided, and there were bitter rivalries between the chorizos and the polacos and panduros, whose allegiance lay with the Teatro de la Cruz and the Teatro de los Caños del Peral respectively. In 1802, a terrible fire destroyed everything but the façade. The decision was taken to rebuild the theatre, and the work was entrusted to Juan de Villanueva. His neoclassical façade can still be seen today, though it too has seen a number of modifications as the result of a series of later fires.

The new theatre

In 1840, the actor Julián Romea made a number of alterations which left the auditorium close to the way it looks today. The benches and stands were removed and boxes and galleries were installed in the upper floors. Rows of seating were created in the stalls, the perimeter of the stage was separated by a curtain, and pipes were installed to provide the gas needed to light both auditorium and stage. Most importantly, the Café del Príncipe became part of the theatre itself, providing more space for dressing rooms and technical equipment. Under a law enacted in 1850, the Coliseo del Príncipe became known as the Teatro Español, as it was mainly devoted to the production of works by Spanish authors.

In 1887, after a series of fires caused as a result of the installation of new technological innovations, the Teatro Español was on the point of being demolished by order of the city council. Fortunately, a popular campaign prevented this from happening, and Ramón Guerrero rebuilt and refurbished the theatre, which was opened by his daughter, María Guerrero, in 1895.

During the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, Pablo Aranda greatly improved the marble decorations and modernised the theatre’s technical equipment. In 1933, with the introduction of the Second Republic, the Teatro Español became the Teatro Nacional as part of a broad programme of social and cultural reforms. This remained unchanged under Franco, who entrusted the theatre’s management to Felipe Lluch. It subsequently became the responsibility of the Education Ministry and then the Information and Tourism Ministry.

The advent of democracy

The advent of democracy coincided with yet another fire at the building. Refurbished once again, in 1980 it was returned to the care of Madrid City Council, its historical owner. It was at this time that the adjoining building became part of the theatre complex and now forms one third of the total space, with facilities for a number of different uses. The last great refurbishment of the Teatro Español (its 14th!) dates from 1995. Subsequently, the orchestra pit, which had been filled in during the earlier refurbishment, was reopened in 2004 so that musical works could be performed, as they had been throughout the theatre’s history, with the orchestra in its rightful place. Further light refurbishment work was carried out in February 2006 to bring the theatre’s public areas and fittings into line with fire-prevention regulations.