CHIP | Travel and Tours | News and Information | Living in Chile | Environment | Human Rights | About Us

The center of Santiago. An hour at which a desperate, rumbling mass of executives, employees and students makes its way towards the restaurants and cafes of the city in search of the best gastronomic offering for lunch, to then proceed with their activities at the customary frantic pace. But wait!

There is a group of classical music lovers that directs its steps towards the Teatro Municipal located at the corner of Agustinas and San Antonio, to listen to the 28 voices of the Coro Bellas Artes, conducted by the maestro Vector Alarc.

The choir offers an eclectic and evocative repertoire of vocal interpretation, ranging from the religious works of Praetorius and Tomàs Luis de Victoria of the XVI and XVII centuries, through the baroque splendor of George Friedrich Haendel, the romanticism of Johannes Brahms, till the contemporary experiments of the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos with his particular mix of Gregorian Chanting, neoclassical styles and the traditional melodies of Brazil.

The audience of more than a thousand wonder struck souls that fills the seats of the main hall thoroughly enjoys the last but one concert of the season’s series of Mid-Day Concerts (Conciertos de Mediodia), which are held every year in the main hall of the municipal theater, known quite simply as "El Municipal".

With the passing of the years, the theater has been transformed into one of the most traditional and beloved places of the city. Its origins go back to 1853, when the French architect Francisco Brunet Des Baines was commissioned by the government of President Manuel Montt to construct a theater which would represent the taste and the style of Chile of that epoch, which was, like other capitals of the world, greatly influenced by the French neoclassical style. The theater was inaugurated in 1857 with the premiere of the opera "Hernani" by Giuseppe Verdi, followed by other equally famous works, making "El Municipal" one of the most prominent and prestigious centers of culture in South America.

Unfortunately, this success was short-lived and when the theater had completed only 17 years of eventful life, it was consumed by the flames of one of the worst fires that the city can recall, giving the Santiago Fire Brigade its first martyr - Fireman Germèn Tenderini (whose name was given to the pedestrian passage that runs on the eastern side of the theater). Rebuilt on the lines of the original in 1873, the theater has since flourished with a stream of uninterrupted activities.

"El Municipal" has played host to the performances of some of the most outstanding artists of the past two centuries. Through its doors have passed, among others, the dancers Anna Pavlova, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev and Julio Bocca; the Bolshoi and Kirov ballet companies; actresses Sarah Bernard and Vivien Leigh; opera singers Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Carlo Morelli; violinists Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, and Jan Kubelik; and pianists Arthur Rubinstein and Claudio Arrau. Speaking of Arrau - a veritable hero in this country - it is said that in his last recitals in Chile, days before his appearance on stage a line more than a kilometer long had formed outside the ticket office. A remarkable event, considering that not even the world’s most popular rock bands have merited such fervor among the city’s culture-vultures.

The mid-day concerts have become one of the most established and well-known activities of the municipal theater. This can be explained by the unique characteristics of this series: you can choose any of the seats in the theater (normally not the case) - be they gallery, balcony or box - and have to part with only a 1000 pesos (for the general public) or 700 pesos (for students) to enjoy the musical treat. All this, and the fact that the concerts are conveniently scheduled for lunch time (between 1:15 and 2:30 p.m.), allowing office-goers or those who find themselves running errands in the center to add an extra dessert to their lunch menu. And for those who feel that it is not only art by which man lives (among those of which I include myself), in the very same theater there is an improvised cafeteria which offers juice, coffee, tea, chocolates and sandwiches which maybe consumed before heading for the central hall.

Read More Travel Essays on Chilean Culture Here