Teatro del Generalife (Granada, Spain)
Teatro del Generalife
An open-air theater for dance and music in the orchards and pleasure estate of the sultans.
Conceived as a privileged stage for dance performances, the Generalife's open-air theater owes its existence to the Granada Festival itself, as its inauguration took place in 1953 with an evening of Spanish dance that also opened the Festival's second edition. An orchard, garden, estate, and even a pleasure palace for the sultans as early as the 14th century, this harmonious blend of nature and architecture that is the Generalife embodies refinement and wisdom, as evidenced by inscriptions such as the following: "Be composed, speak with knowledge, be sparing in your words, and leave in peace." The current theater in the Generalife gardens is the result of a renovation of the original that took place between 2003 and 2005. Its reopening took place during the 54th Granada Festival with a double show that brought together three of the most international names in Spanish culture of the last century: Manuel de Falla, Federico García Lorca and Salvador Dalí.