Inaugurated on July 14th, 1909, it is considered Brazil’s premiere concert hall. It was an initiative of the Pereira Passos administration (1902-1906), which brought about an idea that had existed since the mid-19th century.
After declaring a public contest to decide on the building’s design, the project known as Aquilla, – which had a “secret” designer, the engineer Francisco de Oliveira Passos, son of the mayor – and the project Isadora, by the French architect Albert Guilbert, vice-president of the French Architects Association, were the chosen as finalists.
The Theater’s website depicts, “the result of the competition caused strong controversy in the Municipal Chamber, accompanied by the main newspaper of the time, concerning the true authorship of the Aquilla project, which was suspected of being elaborated by the architecture section of City Hall, and the supposed favoritism of Oliveira Passos. The final project was the result of a fusion of the two finalists, as both corresponded to the same typology, inspired by the Paris Opera House.”
The Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theater was inaugurated by President Nilo Peçanha and by Mayor Sousa Aguiar on July 14th, 1909. It holds dance, music, and opera shows.