Any visitor passing through Madrid, regardless of the continent, should include a visit to the Teatro de la Zarzuela. Since its creation in 1856—and just like the Opéra Comique in Paris or the Vienna Volksoper—this unique arena located at 4 Jovellanos Street (just behind the Congress of Deputies) has been the meeting point for different generations of enthusiastic audiences and for all those who, in one way or another, approach Hispanic culture with the desire and hope of finding new and unforgettable emotions within it. In this venue, where Spanish lyrical music has always been cultivated, the best works from its repertoire continue to be sung and heard.
One of the main assets of this theatre is, precisely, the fact that it is the only auditorium in the world created and preserved expressly for the glory of Spanish lyrical music, for the safeguarding of Spain's musical heritage. A magical theatre, built by and for a genre unique in the world: the zarzuela.
It is on this stage in the Plazuela de Teresa Berganza (calle Jovellanos) that so many gems of Spanish lyric are first heard, bearing the unmistakable signature and seal of the greatest Spanish composers of each era.
Famous and above all popular, Federico García Lorca has performed on its stage, Nureyev has danced, Paco de Lucía has played, Maria Callas, Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo have sung... And its glory, 167 years after its inauguration, continues well into the 21st century. A large part of this is undoubtedly due to the ambitious and spectacular project launched by its current director, Isamay Benavente, which strikes a precise and prodigious balance between tradition and modernity.