TEATRO DE LA MAESTRANZA
Performances, Guided Tours & Tickets
Seville has one of the strongest connections with opera of any city in Europe. More than 150 operatic works are set wholly or partly in the city, including stories involving characters such as Carmen, Don Giovanni and Figaro.
Yet by the late 20th century Seville lacked a modern auditorium capable of presenting large-scale opera and symphonic productions under suitable technical and acoustic conditions.
In 1985, the Provincial Council of Seville launched a competition to create a new covered multipurpose auditorium on land formerly occupied by the Maestranza de Artillería.
1985
The competition for the new auditorium was launched and the project by architects Aurelio del Pozo and Luis Marín was selected.
1987
Construction began on February 10. This is the date that was incorrectly presented as the theatre's inauguration in the previous version of this page.
The original project was conceived as a multipurpose covered auditorium. However, preparations for the Universal Exposition of Seville in 1992 quickly changed its ambitions.
In 1988, the design of the stage house was substantially adapted so that the building could accommodate large operatic productions while remaining suitable for symphonic concerts.
The Teatro de la Maestranza was officially inaugurated on May 2, 1991 by Queen Sofía of Spain.
Its opening gave Seville a large modern venue capable of staging the complex operatic, orchestral and theatrical productions that had previously been difficult to present in the city.
May 2, 1991
Official inauguration of the Teatro de la Maestranza.
1992
The theatre became an important venue for the extensive cultural programme associated with Seville's Universal Exposition.
The theatre was designed by architects Aurelio del Pozo and Luis Marín.
Rather than imitating historic Mudéjar or Moorish architecture, the Maestranza is fundamentally a late 20th-century contemporary building, designed around the technical, acoustic and functional requirements of a major performance venue.
Its location is historically significant. The building occupies part of the former site of the Maestranza de Artillería, which also gave the theatre its name.
1,800 Places
The main auditorium has capacity for 1,800 spectators: 1,794 conventional seats plus six places for wheelchair users.
Four Levels
Seating is distributed between the Patio, Balcón, Terraza and Paraíso levels around the main stage.
The auditorium was conceived above all around acoustic quality and visibility. Its design allows the same hall to accommodate very different types of performance, from a solo recital to a full symphony orchestra or a large opera production.
The Maestranza's main auditorium rapidly acquired a strong reputation for its acoustics. Almost every element in the room contributes in some way to the way sound is distributed and perceived.
The hall is capable of adapting to different musical requirements, an essential characteristic in a theatre that must move from opera to symphonic music, recitals, flamenco and amplified performances.
Patio
600 seats form the main stalls area closest to the stage.
Balcón
314 seats occupy the first elevated level of the auditorium.
Terraza
438 seats provide a further tier above the main auditorium.
Paraíso
448 seats complete the uppermost public level of the main hall.
Opera occupies a particularly important place in the identity of the theatre because Seville itself is one of the great imaginary cities of the international operatic repertoire.
The Maestranza notes that more than 150 operas are set in Seville. Among the most famous are Mozart's Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro, Rossini's The Barber of Seville and Bizet's Carmen.
Carmen
Bizet's heroine is inseparably linked in the popular imagination with Seville, its tobacco factory and the world surrounding the city.
Figaro
Both Rossini and Mozart helped transform the fictional Sevillian barber into one of the most famous characters in the history of opera.
Success also created new technical demands. Between 2005 and 2007, the theatre underwent an important expansion and modernization programme.
The stage house and technical infrastructure were enlarged and transformed so that increasingly complex international productions could be presented under conditions comparable with those of other major European theatres.
Larger Stage Facilities
The works expanded the spaces required to prepare, move and store scenery and other production elements.
Modern Technical Equipment
Stage machinery and supporting infrastructure were updated to meet the needs of increasingly demanding productions.
The official guided visit, Música y Ópera tras el Telón, reveals a side of the Maestranza that ordinary audiences normally never see.
The tour enters working theatrical areas and explains how a major production moves from rehearsal and preparation to the stage.
Backstage
Visitors can discover the chácena, the large working area immediately behind the main stage.
Stage Machinery
The route explains the mechanical systems capable of lifting and moving scenery weighing several tonnes.
Costumes & Props
Displays include theatrical objects, costumes, photographs and memories from productions staged at the Maestranza.
Rehearsal Spaces
Depending on theatre activity, the visit can also introduce spaces used by performers and the chorus.
More than three decades after its inauguration, the Teatro de la Maestranza remains one of the principal cultural institutions in Seville.
Its programme combines opera, symphonic music, dance, flamenco, lyrical recitals, piano, chamber music and contemporary productions.
The theatre is also closely connected with the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, whose symphonic programme forms an important part of the activity held in the building.
Opera
Major staged productions remain one of the defining elements of every Maestranza season.
Symphonic Music
The auditorium's acoustic qualities make it one of Seville's principal homes for large orchestral concerts.
Flamenco & Dance
Flamenco and dance connect the international stage of the Maestranza with Andalusia's own performing traditions.
Other Events
The theatre also accommodates institutional ceremonies, educational projects and selected cultural events.
Why Visit the Teatro de la Maestranza?
The Maestranza is not an old historic theatre like the Lope de Vega. Its importance comes from a different period of Seville's history: the cultural transformation that accompanied Expo '92 and gave the city the modern stage infrastructure required for major international productions.
Attending an opera, concert or dance performance remains the best way to experience the theatre, but its official behind-the-scenes tour also makes the Maestranza an interesting daytime visit for anyone curious about how a major modern theatre actually works.
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