Ceiling paintings
Homero Massena.
Paul R. Burley — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rafael Deminicis — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Paul R. Burley — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Paul R. Burley — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Paul R. Burley — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Theatro Carlos Gomes stands on Praça Costa Pereira in central Vitória, capital of Espírito Santo. It opened on 5 January 1927, inspired by La Scala in Milan, and was designed by the Italian architect André Carloni in an eclectic style dominated by neoclassicism. It is named after Antônio Carlos Gomes, Brazil's best-known opera composer. The theatre was born of a fire: in 1923 the Melpômene, the city's only theatre, burned down and was demolished to open a street and widen the square, so the state government promised the city a new theatre. The cast-iron columns that survived from the old theatre were reused and still hold up its balconies and galleries today, while the ceiling paintings are by the artist Homero Massena. It went through hard times after the 1929 coffee crash, when it was leased out and also ran as a cinema, until the state took it back in 1970 and restored it extensively. You can see it from the square outside, and get in with tickets for shows according to the programme.
Homero Massena.
From the old theatre.
Downtown's heart.
Praça Costa Pereira, central Vitória
La Scala in Milan; it was designed by the Italian architect André Carloni.
