Carlos Bethencourt

Teresa Carreño: Analytical Essay

The Theater Teresa Carreño was first thought to be a place for the Venezuelan Orchestra mainly to rehears and present to the public. Furthermore, that idea of a rehearsal place was developed and transformed so that it could also be a place for multiple uses for diverse presentations.

After settling the idea of the new future Cultural Complex, in September of 1970 a competition was open and the architect who came with the best idea would be the leader of the project. The competition was victorious by a group of three architects called Jesús Sandoval, Tomás Lugo Marcano y Dietrich Kunckel. They had travelled around Europe and North America to study other major theaters. Also an extra influential character for the project was George Izenour. George was internationally recognized as an engineer, theater desing, and acoustics. He was a professor at Yale University and a theater consultant for the Teresa Carreño project. George died recently in 2007. Following the competition, the construction started in 1973.

The theater still today has maintained a structural idea of a building that isolates the monotony of the outside world. It works like a hermetic musical box, providing the idea that everything that happens in the theater is about recreation without being affected by the outside world. It works like a big bubble where in the inside the arts feeds the citizens and permits the free will to dream and wonder isolating the day to day routine.

The theater holds the name of a distinguishable Venezuelan Pianist. She was born in the city of Caracas on the 22^nd of December in 1853. Teresa Carreño was known internationally as a incredible pianist performing pieces such as, Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Grieg, etc. The most important thing for Teresa was that the general culture for an artist was indispensable for the specific projection of his/hers particular art. She emphasized the simple observation of nature, the study of humans as men and creators, the knowledge of architecture, from the narrative to the poetry. And the piano was itself a physical instrument of support. This was her legacy.

The purpose of the Theater is to create a place where popular symphony concerts, diverse shows, operas, classic ballet, theater and more, could be performed in one place. The Cultural Complex is one of the most important theaters in Latin American and certainly the most important in Venezuela. Two major auditoriums organized the theater: Jose Felix Rivas hall and the Rios Reyna hall. The Jose Felix Rivas was inaugurated on February 1976 with the capacity of holding 440 people. The Rios Reyna hall was inaugurated 1983 with the capacity of holding 2400 people.

The materials of the Cultural Complex are mainly concrete, glass and plastic. In Venezuela concrete is a very accessible resource. It is very affordable and almost everything is build with concrete. For example, down the street of the Theater there are two skyscrapers made by concrete alone. It was at a time the tallest buildings made by concrete alone.  Glass and plastic is embedded not too much as to complete the structure but as to integrate art in it. The cultural Complex is filled with artistic values all around. Basically all this art that is with the theater is to give the environment of music and enjoyment.

Cultural Complex Teresa Carreño plays a very important role for the people in Venezuela. It represents what music and art in general means to the people. Today, the best and youngest director of orchestra is a Venezuelan and he often plays and rehearsals in the Theater Teresa Carreño. Basically this Cultural Complex is all about expressing the idea of music and joy and the Theater structurally and artistically gets across that sense of artistic value of music, art, theater, etc. 

Posted by Carlos Bethencourt on Monday, April 20, 2009 at 12:51 PM | Permalink