Campoamor Theater

The Campoamor Theater reaches international fame for being the venue, since 1981, for the delivery of the Prince of Asturias Awards; considered together with the Nobel prizes the most important in the world. But this nineteenth-century theater plays a much broader role in the Asturian cultural scene. Being a center of municipal management becomes the main axis of many of the activities organized by the City Council. Among the great events that it hosts annually, it is worth mentioning the Lyric Theater Festival, the Opera Season, the Theater Season, Zarzuela, the Dance Festival, the Film Series and the Folklore Contest and Exhibition «City of Oviedo». The theater also gives its facilities to different charities for its own acts.

History of the Campoamor Theater

Externally It is an exempt building, rectangular floor plan and four facades: the main one is neoclassical in style and consists of a low padded floor and an imposing second floor, lined on pillars.

The need for such solemn property is born at the end of the 19th century and it fits in with the cultural tastes of the bourgeoisie, with a clear predilection for theatrical and opera performances. It was opened to the public in 1892 with a performance of the work of The Huguenots. He was baptized with the surname of the famous Asturian poet Ramón de Campoamor and the writer Leopoldo Alas, “Clarín”, then a councilor of the municipal corporation, played an essential role in his gestation.

During the civil war, the theater was reduced to rubble and only the main façade remains standing. After the war ended, the construction and renovation of the coliseum began, which reopened in September 1948. Later, different reforms would come to adapt it to the times; the last was in 1998.

At present El Campoamor captivates outside and inside. The hall and corridors of the entrance are marble, and everything around us arouses a premeditated elegance. The interior of the main room causes a majestic effect and luxury: vermilion-colored armchairs, golden railings, ornate walls and a vault of Greek-Latin influences where a beautiful chandelier of almost a ton of weight is suspended.

This stately image has been around the world several times, as well as its prestigious program of events among which stands out the lyrical season, which began to be held at 1948 and organized by 1978 the Asturian Association of Friends of the Opera. His 60 years of continuity has involved the participation of the most relevant voices of each moment.

Nowadays the activity of the theater is articulated precisely around the Opera Season, from September to January, And the Zarzuela season, from February to June. In this historic setting they offered recitals great names in the history of opera such as Marilyn Horne, Grace Bumbry, Samuel Ramey, Montserrat Caballé, Teresa Berganza, Victoria de los Angeles, Edita Gruberova, Waltraud Meier, Chris Merrit, Mirella Freni, Renata Scotto, Elly Amelling, Katia Ricciarelli, Elena Obraztsova, Vladimir Chernov, Rockwell Blake, Kristjan Jóhannsson or Frederica von Stade.

Great international figures have performed in the field of dance such as Alicia Alonso and the National Ballet of Cuba, the Bolshoi Theater Ballet in Moscow with Maia Plisiétskaia or companies such as the Monte Carlo Opera Ballets, the Kirov Ballet of Leningrad, Maurice Béjart's Ballet, the Martha Graham Ballets, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Netherlands Dance Theater with Jiri Kiliam, the Ballet company of Boris Eifmann, the company of Angelin Preljocaj or the National Classical Ballet with María de Ávila.
Likewise, internationally renowned soloists such as Mihail Barishnikov, Julio Bocca, Antonio Gades, Víctor Ullate, Nacho Duato and Tamara Rojo have performed.