The Teatro Solis: 150 Years of Opera, Concert and Ballet in Montevideo

The first comprehensive history of the oldest major opera house in the Americas.

The Teatro Solís in Montevideo, Uruguay―established in 1856 and still operating―is the oldest theater in the Americas. Solís audiences thrilled to the lyricism of many of the great singers of the 19th Century, among them Adelina Patti, Romilda Pantaleoni, Gemma Bellincioni, and Enrico Caruso, accompanied by a 285-member company. Programs also featured orchestra and dance: the theater played host to dancer Vaslav Nijinksy's last stage performance and presented Puccini, Mascagni, Saint-Saëns and Richard Strauss. Susana Salgado's lively historical account―the very first of its kind―is enriched by anecdotes, reviews and illustrations. A complete narrative chronology of performances is indexed by performer and work, making this book a rare treat for opera buffs and an invaluable resource for scholars in the fields of music and dance history, American studies, and Latin American studies.

SUSANA SALGADO is a consultant to the Library of Congress for Iberian and Latin American music. Prior to leaving Uruguay, she was Research Professor and Chair of Uruguayan Music in the Department of Musicology at the University of Uruguay in Montevideo. Author of several books, she contributed to scholarly publications, including five Grove dictionaries (Opera, Music 1980/2001, Women Composers, and American Composers). E. THOMAS GLASOW is the editor of Opera Quarterly. JULIO MARÎA SANGUINETTI is the former President of Uruguay.