The Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso underwent major repairs between 2013-2016 and further renovations in 2023.
LIMA, Peru – After two costly repairs in the last 10 years, the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso (GTH) closed again indefinitely to address problems and structural damage that persist since the last renovations.
According to a publication by the Gran Teatro itself on Facebook“is undergoing a process of constructive investment of its main hall and various spaces, in order to reincorporate its artistic programming of excellence in the shortest possible time.”
With a neo-baroque style and located in the old Tacon Theater, the property underwent major repairs between 2013 and 2016, when it opened its doors.
In that investment process The facades, lobbies, boxes, roofs and planks were restored; The theater was equipped with new furniture, curtains, an air conditioning system, acoustics, stage mechanics, rehearsal rooms for the dancers and the orchestra, a recording studio and more than 20 dressing rooms.
Just over two years ago, in February 2023, the GTH closed its doors again. Enmanuel George, deputy director of the facility, assured that the closure was also due to damage to the main room, caused by termites and landslides in the upper slab.
“The main difficulties that the theater has are due to the termites in the carpentry and in the wooden accessories in the García Lorca room. The false ceiling is affected, which is the critical route of the installation. Behind that structure there is a slab that has detachments,” the official then detailed.
According to the experts he referred to, the facility’s false ceiling could not be repaired without prior work on the slab. “Between it and the false ceiling there is about 30 or 40 centimeters, so it is impossible to reach it from the outside and it must be dismantled. This involves a delicate process because there are artistic elements, plaster moldings and a specific canvas that must be preserved. In the case of the painting, replicas or a digital memory of what they are like must be obtained to preserve their heritage value,” George explained.
As if that were not enough, the infrastructure, especially on the third floor, began to suffer fragmentation and damaged part of the roof due to leaks in the air conditioning system. “The detachments in the slab may be due to humidity or the sound vibrations typical of theaters,” inferred Lillitsy Hernández Oliva, president of the National Council of Performing Arts (CNAE).
“Any of the solutions that the experts and engineers suggest are expensive and will be carried out in 2023, the year in which there will be greater capacity from the amount of the investment that is being secured to continue recovering the theater,” said the director.
Inaugurated in 1914, the former Grand Theater of Havana is the work of Belgian architect Paul Beleu. It is currently the main headquarters of the National Ballet of Cuba.
