Teatro Nacional

Boari was appointed to design and oversee the building of the Teatro Nacional (now Palacio de Bellas Artes) in Mexico City. During the preparatory stages he travelled widely to study current ideas of theatre architecture and made an urban study of the streets and open spaces around the site. The design included a glass-enclosed garden instead of a foyer, a dome over the garden rather than the auditorium and a safety curtain of opalescent glass; the structure was of iron. Construction began in 1904 and lasted several years. Work on the Teatro Nacional was eventually halted by financial problems, and in 1916 Boari returned to Italy. The building was completed in 1934 under other architects, including Géza Maróti, who modified the original plan. The building has murals by Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco.; Boari was appointed to design and oversee the building of the Teatro Nacional (now Palacio de Bellas Artes) in Mexico City. During the preparatory stages he travelled widely to study current ideas of theatre architecture and made an urban study of the streets and open spaces around the site. The design included a glass-enclosed garden instead of a foyer, a dome over the garden rather than the auditorium and a safety curtain of opalescent glass; the structure was of iron. Construction began in 1904 and lasted several years. Work on the Teatro Nacional was eventually halted by financial problems, and in 1916 Boari returned to Italy. The building was completed in 1934 under other architects, including Géza Maróti, who modified the original plan. The building has murals by Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 6/22/2009