Opera buffa

摘要

When the Teatro Colon, Latin America's most famous opera house, closed for refurbishment in November 2006, Buenos Aires city officials vowed that it would reopen in time for its centenary on May 25th 2008. But when the great day arrived, the theatre's golden proscenium arch was still in pieces on the floor, alongside plywood boards, while scaffolding rose the full 28-metre (92-foot) height of its dome. To kick off the celebrations, the Colon's resident symphony orchestra was obliged to perform in a neighbouring theatre specialising in musicals, where it had to use microphones instead of relying on the opera house's fabulous natural acoustics.