A cultural taste of Málaga

HISTORY

El Teatro Cervantes is nearly 150 years old; it was built after a serious fire almost completely destroyed El Teatro de la Libertad, Malaga city´s most prestigious theatre in the mid 19th-century. The loss of the theatre – built for the 1862 visit of Queen Isabel II to Malaga - left the city in desperate need of a replacement, and so a new theatre was commissioned. It was designed by architect Gerónimo Cuervo, with painters Bernardo Ferrándiz and Muñoz Degrain.

The works were completed between April and November of 1870, and the grand opening took place on 17 December of the same year: the inaugural performance was an opera - Guillermo Tell (William Tell). Unfortunately, in the years that passed, the theatre fell into ruin, and much of the original structure was lost during the Civil War. In 1950 an attempt was made to restore the building, but sadly the restorations did not stick to the original architectural design and drastic changes were made, including the installation of a bar and a projection room to facilitate the showing of cinema reels, after which point the theatre was used primarily as a cinema. In 1984, the government took over the building and financed its reconstruction.

The theatre was rebuilt with a capacity of 1,171, including a selection of seats and boxes. The projection room was removed, restoring the theatre to its former glory and grandeur. The Teatro Cervantes was reopened on 6 April 1987 by Queen Sofía. The occasion was marked by a performance from the Malaga Symphonic Orchestra.

LAYOUT

The theatre has several sections: the stalls (butacas de patio); three levels of balcony boxes (butacas de primero, segundo and tercer piso), some of which have a restricted view; three circles (primero, segundo and tercer piso); and the gods (paraiso), which can also have a limited view. The main box (palco principal) is found in the centre of the first-floor balcony, and seats 12 people.

EVENTS

For a list of shows and performances, see our up-and-coming events page.

ADDRESS

Ramos Marin, 29012 Málaga

TICKETS:

Mon-Fri : 11.00-14.00 and 18.00-21.00. 
Sundays and Holidays: the box office is open up to one hour before the show.
On performance days, tickets are on sale up to five minutes before the show.
Telephone Sales: Tue-Fri 11.00-14.00 and 18.00-20.00
Tel: 952 224 100 
Uniticket Service: Mon-Sat 11.00-20.00 
Tel: 901 246 246.

View the Teatro Cervantes in a larger map