The Teatro de S. João in Oporto: New Data on its Functioning (1834-1876)

Abstract

This article deals with the history of the Teatro de S. João in Oporto during the Romantic period, considering its peripheral status when compared to that of 'State theatre' upheld by the S. Carlos in Lisbon, which was attended by the court and the capital's political and social elite. It discusses the history of the building and the relations between its management and impresarios, on the one hand, and the State, on the other, during the period which followed the Liberal victory of 1834, in particular with regard to the Inspecção Geral dos Teatros, which from 1836 onwards supervised all theatrical activities. The mounting of the seasons and the hiring and circulation of singers reflect the economic difficulties that the Teatro S. João always had to face, and the way in which it depended for its functioning on other peninsular theatres, such as Lisbon, Cadiz and the Galician cities.