Access Bilbao
ARRIAGA ANTZOKIA · EL ARENAL · RIGHT BANK

Teatro Arriaga

Bilbao's opera house of 1890 on the bank of the Ría, a Neo-Baroque front modeled on the Paris Opera, rebuilt after a fire in 1914 and again after the flood of 1983, and named after the composer the city calls its Spanish Mozart.

The Teatro Arriaga reflected in the river beside the old town

Photo: Wayne77, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Home · Sights · Teatro Arriaga

Teatro Arriaga

What you are looking at

El Arenal · right bank

The Teatro Arriaga at the end of the Arenal, a Christmas tree set up in front
The Teatro Arriaga at the end of the Arenal, a Christmas tree set up in frontlkontratua90, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
  1. 1
    The curved frontA convex Neo-Baroque facade facing the river, framed by two domed turrets with a clock at the top.
  2. 2
    The allegoriesSculptures representing the performing arts, in the manner of the Paris Opera House.
  3. 3
    The horseshoe auditoriumAbout 1,200 seats in stalls, boxes, amphitheater and gallery, in the classic European plan.
  4. 4
    The imperial staircaseA grand double stair added in the restoration finished in 1986.
  5. 5
    El ArenalThe riverside promenade and gardens beside the theater, with fountains and a bandstand.
  6. 6
    San NicolásThe Baroque church across the small square, facing the theater front.

Reading the place

The sight in full

Why it matters

The Teatro Arriaga, Arriaga Antzokia in Basque, is Bilbao's historic opera house and one of the most notable buildings in the city. It stands on the right bank of the Ría at the edge of the Casco Viejo, facing the river and the Arenal bridge, and its pale front is the image that greets anyone crossing from the Ensanche into the old town.

The Teatro Arriaga on the river at the edge of the old town
The Teatro Arriaga on the river at the edge of the old townHACERCANDOME, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

It was built in a Neo-Baroque style by the architect Joaquín Rucoba, who also designed the city hall, and opened in 1890. It is named after Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, a composer from Bilbao who died young and was later nicknamed the Spanish Mozart. The building has survived a fire and a flood, each followed by a long reconstruction.

From the town theater to the new theater

In 1834 the Teatro de la Villa opened as Bilbao's main stage. The city grew fast in the middle of the century after the railway arrived, while the Carlist Wars did great damage to it and left the old theater in ruins. By 1882 the Teatro de la Villa was too small and in too poor a state, and plans were made for a new theater to replace it.

The Teatro Arriaga's ornate corner and green domes
The Teatro Arriaga's ornate corner and green domesHACERCANDOME, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Led by Rucoba, the Nuevo Teatro de Bilbao opened on 31 May 1890, after four years of building. The name Teatro Arriaga first appeared in newspaper announcements for a performance in 1902. The theater was technically advanced for its time: it was an early user of electric lighting and was built on an iron frame in the hope of avoiding fire.

The Spanish Mozart

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga was born in 1806, the son of a merchant who had moved to Bilbao two years earlier. A child prodigy, he was sent to study at the Paris Conservatoire under Luigi Cherubini and François-Joseph Fétis, who were impressed by his originality. He died in Paris of a lung illness ten days before his twentieth birthday.

He was called the Spanish Mozart after his death: like Mozart he was a prodigy who died young, they shared their first baptizmal names, and both were born on 27 January, the feast of Saint John Chrysostom, fifty years apart. A monument to him stands outside the Fine Arts Museum.

Fire and flood

The Teatro Arriaga at the end of its square, tram wires overhead
The Teatro Arriaga at the end of its square, tram wires overheadPA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

That hope failed. On the night of the Santo Tomás market in 1914 the theater was destroyed by fire. The architect Federico de Ugalde led its reconstruction, and it was inaugurated a second time on 5 June 1919. Through the twentieth century it passed through the hands of private companies and in 1978 became the property of the city, at a time when theater-going had declined and cinema filled much of its program.

On 26 August 1983 the great flood reached about five meters in parts of the city, and the Arriaga was badly damaged. It reopened on 5 December 1986 after a major restoration by the architect Francisco Hurtado de Saracho, which added the imperial staircase. Between 1999 and 2000 the fronts, damaged by salt, pollution, damp and growths, were restored: stone was cleaned and repaired and the sculptures were reinforced.

What you see

The Arenal and the Teatro Arriaga seen from a corner of the old town
The Arenal and the Teatro Arriaga seen from a corner of the old townGunnar E. Heßke, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

The building is Neo-Baroque with French influences, and its fronts were inspired by the Paris Opera House. The main front, curving outward toward the river, is framed by two domed turrets and set out on three levels: a row of arches at the base; rectangular windows, round openings and balconies in the middle; and a clock at the center of the top level. Sculptures around it represent allegories of the performing arts.

Inside, the auditorium seats about 1,200 people in a horseshoe plan, like other European opera houses, divided into stalls, orchestra, boxes, amphitheater and gallery. Because the ground floor of Rucoba's design held shops, the stage is on the second floor. The orchestra pit sits on a lift with three positions: lowered as a pit, level with the stalls for extra seats, or raised to the stage.

El Arenal and the square

The bandstand of the Arenal under the trees, the river behind
The bandstand of the Arenal under the trees, the river behindArdfern, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The theater stands at one end of El Arenal, Areatza in Basque, the riverside promenade that is the old town's front door: about 300 meters along the water and more than 125 meters wide at its broadest. Inside it are three walks, two fountain pools with small bronze mermaids, gardens with figures of Bacchus and Pan, and a bandstand.

Between the theater and the church of San Nicolás lies a small square planted with trees and circular wooden benches, and near the Arenal bridge stands a statue of the improvising poet Balendin Enbeita. From here the Arenal bridge crosses to the Ensanche and to Abando station.

How to visit

To see the inside, go to a performance: the Arriaga stages theater, dance, opera and concerts through the season, and the program and tickets are on the theater's own site. Guided visits of the building have been offered at times; check the theater for current arrangements rather than counting on one.

Plane trees shading the gardens of the Arenal in spring
Plane trees shading the gardens of the Arenal in springZarateman, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

From outside, the best views are from the Arenal bridge and from the opposite bank, where the curved front and the turrets can be seen together over the water, and at dusk, when the front is lit. The Arriaga tram stop is in front of the theater and the Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo Metro station a few minutes away; see getting around.

For opera at full scale, the city's main season is held across the river at the Euskalduna; the booking ahead page explains what needs a ticket in advance.

Honest notes

Strollers under the plane trees of the Arenal on a spring day
Strollers under the plane trees of the Arenal on a spring dayWayne77, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Arriaga's music is little played outside Spain, and the theater is a monument to the city's pride in him as much as to his work. The building you see is largely the reconstruction of 1919 restored after 1983, faithful to Rucoba's design rather than original stone throughout.

Nearby

Where to go next