He Colón Theater Live a splendorous spring. Under the artistic direction of Julio Boccathe Buenos Aires coliseum is revitalized with unusual energy. Since he assumed in August 2024, the former member of the American Ballet Theater injected him a fresh air, without betraying the tradition that made the theater one of the most admired in the world. Bocca reorganized the stable bodies, incorporated emerging and international artists and drew a program that combines risk, classicism and modernity. The public perceived it instantly. “Bocca returned to Columbus the sacred fire”is heard among the golden halls, while the functions are filled every night as it was not seen in years.
Today, tickets are exhausted with many weeks in advance. Even with values that reach the $ 93 thousand, as in balleteither $ 140 thousand for operaalthough The cheapest start from the $ 8500the highest locations, called in jargon as “chicken coop.”
“Aida”, released this season, was received with endless cheers. “Carmen”, in choreographic version of the recognized and multi -member Marcia Haydéeopened the ballet calendar with full functions and waiting lists. The arrival of Marianela Núñezstellar guest, will be another milestone of the current season, as well as the presence of Argentina based in the Scala de Milan, Celesta Lasa, who almost exhausted locations for July and August in their respective functions of “Don Quixote” and “The Swan Lake”.
For export. Another prominent point was the recent debut of the Chinese pianist Yuja Wangwith its electrical virtuosity and magnetic presence, putting last week to Buenos Aires on the map of global classical music. Each international name that steps on the stage is celebrated as an event. Bocca, with his experience in stages such as El Bolshoi or the Royal Ballet, was key to weaving these ties.
But the phenomenon is not reduced to gala nights. During the day, the Columbus attracts with its guided tours, in which tourists from around the world and local public travel the building and rediscovered its secrets. In Spanish, English and Portuguese, the circuits include the Foyer, the Bustos Gallery, the Golden Hall and the mythical main hall. With limited quotas every 15 minutes, tickets are sold out daily, at a value of $ 25,000, although there are discounts for retirees and students. The Columbus is not only a theater, in recent months an iconic and cultural experience for all types of audiences became.
Such expansion reaches the neighborhood of La Boca, where it works Columbus Factorya secret jewel and today tourist epicenter. They are the former theater workshops, where scenographies are built, costumes are made, curtains are painted, shoes and wigs are made and now immersive tours are offered that try to link the general public with the history of the theater. There you can see models, original costumes of large operas, replicas in real scale and details that reveal crafts behind fantasy.
The children also finds its place in the corners of the ancestral theater. The functions of “Columbus for children”adapted for the little ones, became close activities and not of a social elite. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, girls and boys are grouped in the hall with the same emotion as on an opera night. The Columbus beat again as a living and generational theater.
Celebration. This year, in addition, the Stable ballet of the Colón Theater turns 100 years old. Founded in 1925, he celebrates his centenary with a series of tributes and a commemorative publication that runs through his story, from his first steps to the present. The book includes unpublished photographs, testimonies of historical dancers and critics and specialists analysis. This year’s international gala, as part of the celebrations, will bring together figures invited with the current dancers who leave the level of virtuosity. Federico Fernández, Juan Pablo Ledo, Valentín Batista, Camila Bocca -Without kinship with July-, Mora Capasso, Ayelén Sánchez, Victoria Wolf, Natalia Pelayo, Beatriz Boos, and Rocío Agüero They are today their maximum exponents of skill and quality.
And while the beginning of the relationship between Bocca and the Columbus began with friction when the former dancer criticized at the table of Mirtha Legrand The company’s level of professionalism and suggested that the artists should work more hours than the six or seven they meet daily, with the passing of the days the waters calmed down and the forces of joining. An artistic rebirth that was reflected, above all, commercial. The official store, with exclusive merchandising, became a sales phenomenon. There they are achieved from shirts with the Columbus brand, to pins and replicas of historical posters.
The colon does not sleep in its laurels, but is projected. And Bocca, with his international gaze and contagious passion, enhanced such a phenomenon. The “exhausted localities” poster in all its functions confirms it daily.
