Piraeus Municipal Theatre (Piraeus, Greece)
Piraeus Municipal Theatre
The Piraeus Municipal Theatre is a neoclassical building built on plans by the architect Ioannis Lazarimos and was opened on 9 April 1895. The theatre has a 600-seat capacity and is located in the centremost place of Piraeus.
From the day it opened its doors to the public, on 9 April 1895, the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus became the jewel of the city, a grand neoclassical building which, due to its monumental appearance, was meant to be established as the best surviving Greek theater building of the 19th century.
The morphology of the building structure has references to classical architecture and is influenced by the German school, represented by Ernest Chiller. The stunning white building has a temple-like front gate and four slender Corinthian-order columns, without grooves, in the façade. The theatre stage is considered one of the last surviving monuments of the Baroque era in Europe, it consists of a proscenium and a space for the orchestra, while the stalls, the boxes and balconies are arranged in four levels. The main room was lit by an enormous gas chandelier, which survives to this day. There were spacious dressing rooms and a luxurious sitting lounge for the actors, while the two story foyer used to host balls and exhibitions by renowned painters.
The Municipal Theatre of Piraeus immediately became a cultural landmark of the city, a space of inspiration and creation for the Greek theater and music scene.
Its name was associated with the history of Piraeus and the whole of Greece. The occupations by foreign soldiers and bombings it suffered during World War I and II destroyed a big part of the building.
The new phase of its operation started on 22 October 2013, when the astonishing building re-opened its doors to the public and curtains were raised again, after ten years of “silence”, due to a complete restoration and renovation. Today, the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus is an imposing neoclassical monument with an exceptional stage, fully operational, with a unique style. The luxurious decoration has been fully revealed and its extraordinary architecture design has been showcased. The twenty three box alignments and the space above the dome of the central area are utterly stunning.
It is a modern theatre that hosts high standard theatre and music performances, events and exhibitions, thus playing a major role in the city’s cultural scene.