On Wednesday, I went to a choral concert of elementary school students. Our nephew Ezra, who has finished junior high, had been asked by his music teacher to play keyboard as instrumental backup for one of the schools. Alejandro had to take him to the theater. Two tickets were given to the family of each participant, and Ezra's mom had to work. So I decided to attend.
The concert was held at the "Teatro de la Ciudad" (City Theater) in the historic center.
The kids performing were cute, although, as you would expect from elementary school students, the musical quality was not outstanding.
The concert was very long... over two hours. But I was glad I attended because I got to see the elegant interior of one of Mexico City's most historic theaters.
The theater was built in the early 20th century by Esperanza Iris, a famous Mexican actress and singer who was known as the Queen of the Operetta. She had the architects design the theater after the La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy. It was inaugurated in 1918, and was at the time the most important theater in the city. International performers such as Enrico Caruso and Anna Pavlova performed here.
After the death of Esperanza Iris ownership of the theater passed to her nephews and eventually to the government of Mexico City. The theater was closed in 1984 due to a fire, but was restored and reopened two years later. On its 90th anniversary in 2008 it was renamed Teatro de la Ciudad Esperanza Iris.
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