Teatro Real de Madrid: these are the guided tours, schedules, prices

Do you know that in your trip to Madrid when you go to the Plaza de Oriente, you have the possibility of visiting the interior of the building of the Royal Theatre?

It is a curious visit that will allow you the ins and outs of a historic building with incredible interior dimensions that you cannot get an idea of ​​from the outside.

El Royal Theatre It is one of the buildings that make up the image of the Plaza de Oriente adjacent to Royal Palace and a little further away, the Almudena Cathedral.

El Royal Theatre It is a hexagonal building that dates back to 1850, although it has actually been after its last major renovation, completed in 1997, when great activity as an opera stage is taking place.

History Royal Theater

At the location of Royal Theatre Already in 1708 there was a small theater built by an Italian company.

In 1735 it was replaced by another larger theater building, but due to its defective construction and the problems caused by groundwater, it had to be demolished in 1816 by order of Ferdinand VI.

Subsequently, the Queen isabel II promoted the project to build an opera house for Madrid, but the works were delayed until, finally, the Royal Theater was inaugurated in 1850.

After several operatic seasons, and after suffering a fire in 1867, the building had to be closed in 1925 due to the danger of collapsing due to some construction works. Metro.

During the Civil War, the building of this opera house was used as a weapons depot and suffered serious damage.

Although there was interest in restoring it, it was not until 1966 when it was opened to the public again, but only as concert hall.

And, finally, in 1991 a profound remodeling of the Royal Theatre to turn it back into a great opera house, until 1997 when it was inaugurated in its current stage.

Guided tours of the Royal Theater

If you reach the Plaza de Oriente from the Sun Gate awarded by the Arenal street, at the moment of arrival to the Isabel II Square, where is the station Opera Metro, you will find the rear façade of the building.

It will be when you arrive at the Plaza de Oriente where you will see the main façade of the Royal Theater, right in front of the Royal Palace.

But the true magnitude of this building, which although it may not seem like it on the outside, is nine stories high and six underground stories, you will only be able to appreciate it if you decide to take a guided tour of the Royal Theater.

El Royal Theater of Madrid has the capacity to 1.746 viewers, although it varies depending on the work that is represented.

The total area is 65.000 square meters, and the stage is almost 1.500 square meters.

La visit to the great stage of the opera and dance of Madrid takes place in guided groups, every day of the week in the morning in groups of no more than 25 people.

These guided tours of the Royal Theater They also have the incentive that they are carried out by members of the Association of Friends of the Opera.

In this way, during the tour through the different areas of the building you will feel the passion for opera that these opera fans transmit to you.

To give you an idea of ​​the surprising dimensions of the building of the Madrid Opera Theater, telephone building for the Gran Vía, with its 29 floors, would fit in the central space of the Royal Theater occupied by its stage box, from the bottom of its basements to the top floor.

During the tour You have the opportunity to understand this fact when you see in a spectacular model what the interior distribution of the aforementioned stage box is.

Its sophisticated platform mechanisms, with cables, bars, lighting equipment, sets and curtains, characteristic of a large opera house, allow continuous changes of sets during the same work, as well as rapid disassembly and assembly of a new performance. .

In the guided tour of the Royal Theater of Madrid, which lasts 50 minutes, there is no access to the stage and stage areas (a shame...), since it is a private area,

The visit will take place through the seating area and the highest of the amphitheatres, on the sixth floor. You will also be able to see the different rooms that surround the amphitheaters.

What to see in Teatro Real de Madrid

The visit begins at main spectator room, with its classic horseshoe shape.

In it you already get a first idea of ​​the large dimensions of the Royal Theater, which has capacity for almost 1.800 spectators.

The stage is 30 meters deep, and can reach 70 meters when the performance requires it, reaching the façade of the Isabel II Square.

La orchestra area It normally has space for up to 90 musicians, but in certain performances, the first two rows of seats are eliminated, expanding the space for up to 120 musicians.

The impressive central lamp in the seating area is a copy of the original, which dates back to 1850, and weighs 2.700 kilos.

During the guided tour of the Royal Theater of Madrid, you go up to the first floor of the amphitheater to access the goya hall, located right in front of the Royal Palace.

This hall is used for royal receptions during the intermissions of opera performances.

On the subsequent tour of different rooms, you will be surprised by the great color of the decorations in each of them, in red, green, etc...

the so-called Hall of Mirrors, in which its 15th century Venetian mirror stands out, is currently used to give a brief XNUMX-minute explanatory conference before the performance.

La Portrait Room of the Kings It houses different paintings, with portraits of the kings who have reigned in Spain since the creation of the Royal Theater.

Thus, you will see boxes dedicated to Ferdinand VII, Isabel II, Alfonso XII, Alfonso XIII, as well as the King Juan Carlos, as well as the Queen Sofia, the only spouse represented, but with a well-known great love of music.

In the so-called Dance room lies the Royal Theater restaurant, which is open to the general public every day. This large room was used as a dance hall in the 19th century, and now has great decoration alluding to music.

The last stage of the guided tour of the Royal Theater of Madrid is to climb to the highest of amphitheaters, in the sixth floor, and you are really impressed again by the interior dimensions of the spectator room.

On this floor you will have the opportunity to see the aforementioned large model of the Royal Theater and, likewise, some excellent views of the Plaza de Oriente.

Visiting hours of the Royal Theater of Madrid

The Guided tour schedules of the Royal Theater of Madrid They are, from Monday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 13 p.m. for the last group.

During the month of August there are no visits to the Teatro Real.

The Prices for guided tours of the Royal Theater (2016) are 8 euros, with a reduced rate of 6 euros for seniors +65, students up to 26 years old and large families. Children under 7 years old have free entry.