TEATRO ARTUR AZEVEDO

Inaugurated in July 1817, during the golden age of cotton, by two merchants - Eleutério Lopes de Silva Varela and Estevão Gonçalves Bragaqui - this theatre with its curved lines was directly inspired by the architecture of 18th century Italian opera houses. Its neoclassical style and size (800 seats) caused a sensation. It was then called Teatro União, then renamed Teatro Artur Azevado in the 1920s, in homage to the Maranhão playwright, Artur de Azevedo (1855-1908). The artist and director Fernando Bicudo reopened the building in 1993.