Montevideo: Monuments and Historic Buildings

The Solis Theatre in Montevideo is owned by the government of Montevideo and is the oldest theatre in Uruguay.

This theatre was built in 1857 and is situated at Plaza Independencia. The theatre was renovated in 1998 and was completed in 2004. There are a number of plays, concerts, ballets, opera, classical music and movies which are shown in the theatre along with national and international performances.

There are guided tours which take tourists inside the theatre. However, the gift shop and the museum in the basement is open to the public at all times. Initially the theatre started in the year 1857 with the performance of the Ernani de Verdi, an opera in the international concert hall.

The theatre is named after a Spanish explorer named Juan Diaz de Solis who led the first European mission to Rio de la Plata. The building which actually began in 1842 was held up due to the civil war fought between 1838 to 1851.

The side wings which were absent affected the quality of the sound level thus they were ultimately completed in the year 1869 to 1874 after which it was became very much appreciated by the local people and businessmen as well.