The Algarve Architecture Prize 2024, Theatre Lethes in Faro & de Bonbonnière in Maastricht
The Lethes Theatre and the Architecture Prize of the Algarve 2024
The ‘Architecture Prizes of the Algarve 2024’ were recently awarded. The festive event took place at the Lethes Theatre in Faro. The Lethes Theatre is definitely among one of my favourite theatres, and I take every opportunity to visit it. It has a charm and cosiness that you find in very few theatres. It always reminds me of another theatre I love just as much: De Bonbonnière in my hometown of Maastricht. The coincidental similarity between the two theatres is that, before becoming theatres, they were both Jesuit churches.
The Lethes Theatre:
The building of the ‘Teatro Lethes’ dates back to the 17th century and the theatre looks almost the same on the outside as the old ‘Jesuit College’ that settled in Faro in 1599. The Jesuits stayed there until 1769, after which the building resumed its religious purpose 10 years later by housing the ‘Order of Carmelites’, which lasted until 1834, interrupted by the 1807 occupation by Napoleon's French troops. They stayed there only for a short time, as they were soon driven out by the uprising in Olhão in 1808.
With the death of Pope Clement XIII in February 1769, the Jesuit issue erupted in full force, so much so that it largely determined the choice of the new pope. Leading members of the house of Bourbon demanded that the candidates put in writing that they would dissolve the order. This was indeed done by the newly elected pope.
In 1843, the building was bought by an Italian doctor, Dr Lázaro Doglioni, a Venetian-born Italian who was shipwrecked off Cape St Vincent in 1804 on his way to England. He was rescued by fishermen from Tavira, after which he settled in the Algarve. After buying the building, he transformed it into a theatre with the necessary modifications, with the support of his nephew, the doctor Justino Comano. The latter used the Scala in Milan and the São Carlos in Lisbon as examples to transform the former chapel into a magnificent concert hall.
The ‘Theatro Lethes’ was inaugurated on 4 April 1845 in the city of Faro with a drama by José Freire de Serpa Pimentel, O Almansor, which was about the last king of the Algarve.
The first paintings of the theatre and its scenery were done by Dr Cumano and Canon Rasquinho. Dr Doglioni named his theatre Teatro Lethes because it was the name of the river of oblivion in the underworld of Greek Mythology and because he wanted all political differences to be ‘forgotten’ within his concert hall. The modest, circular theatre has 120 armchairs, a number of lodges in four floors and a spacious balcony.
The Lethes Theatre remained in the family until 1951 and briefly functioned as a cinema at the beginning of the 20th century. From 1916, it was used by ‘Sport Faro e Benfica’, which devoted itself to sports such as cycling, boxing, athletics, roller hockey, basketball, table tennis, gymnastics, sailing and football. Especially the sporting events the club organised on the grounds next to the theatre (today a car park for ambulances) are still remembered by Faro residents.
In 1951, the theatre was sold to the Portuguese Red Cross. Despite the cycle of transformations, the theatre retained the architectural character of a monastery and the interior structure of an eighteenth-century concert hall, with the endearing cosiness of narrow folding chairs in red velour and the cosy, circular boxes. The feeling of almost sitting in each other's laps and being able to touch the performers on stage is never lost.
Architecture Awards of the Algarve 2024
On this first Saturday afternoon in March, a small group of people is already waiting on the elevated front porch of the Lethes Theatre, whose façade still bears the Latin motto ‘Monet Obletanto’ (borne out with amusement). Exactly at 4pm, the side door on the right opens and we are welcomed by the Algarve branch of the Portuguese Architects' Association to wait in the theatre's narrow side room until the auditorium is ready. Meanwhile, the nominated designs of the competitions can be admired on the side walls. However, this only works with my iPhone's light on, as the room's sparse chandeliers are clearly still in the 18th-century atmosphere
However, the snacks are served and immediately assailed by the children, some of whom will undoubtedly form the new generation of young architects. I walk straight to the end of the room, where the baskets with the wine are, and allow myself to be offered a glass of rosé, while I start a chat with architects next to me who teach at the University of the Algarve, among others. That may not have an architecture department, but it does have a landscape architecture department, and it has good references..
When we are allowed to enter the auditorium after some time, I am overwhelmed - as always - by this ‘dollhouse theatre’ with its classic red plush furnishings. The surprisingly tall space in this narrow, circular theatre with its four tiers of lodges with cosy two-seats and angelic paintings on the front of the frame stage and ceiling. After a brief welcome by the Portuguese Architects' Association section Algarve and a musical reception, we get a presentation of the first issue of the new architecture magazine INTERSEÇCOES - entirely dedicated to ‘Modernist’ Architecture in the Algarve. It even is featuring an extensive modernist architecture route. After the competition's jury names the nominees of the fourth installment of the Architecture Prize of the Algarve 2024 enter the limelight...........the winner(s) of each category is announced and the designer(s) are invited to receive the prize.
Rehabilitation category - Winner 2024
Casa Amor in Olhão - Arq. Tatiana Benta of SENA Architects
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Residential category - Winner 2024
Residential house Praia Verde in Castro Marim - Arq. José Martinez
Category Fixtures, Service & Industry - Winner 2024
Museum ‘House of the Collector’ in Moncarapacho - Arq. Filipe Rodrigues
Landscape architecture category - Winner 2024
Parque Verde da Ribeira in Aljezur - Arq. António Marques
Rehabilitation category - Honorable Mention 2024
Casa Raúl Lino in Tavira - Arq. Ambra Zotti by Superflash Studio
Residential category - Honorable Mention 2024
Casa do Limoeiro in Odeceixe (Aljezur) - Arq. Alexandre Loureiro
De Bonbonnière in Maastricht
For years, de Bonbonnière has stood empty as a theatre building. Until recently, only the café at the front was open. A loss that began in 1992, when the new Theater aan het Vrijthof opened. Is there a second parallel here with the Lethes Theatre, when Faro, on the occasion of being Cultural Capital in 2005, inaugurated the new theatre ‘Figuras’? For Maastricht dialect theatre companies, de Bonbonnière was their home for many years. I myself particularly remember the wonderfully amusing Maastricht cabaret Rommedoe in the early 1980s, with Thei Dols, Irma van Hoof and Tilly Maessen in the leading roles.
In 1786, architect Mathias Soiron was asked to convert the vacant Jesuit church into a theatre, and the new theatre was inaugurated in 1789. De Bonbonnière, like the Lethes Theatre, has a cosy plush theatre hall, but the exterior is more robust, mainly because of the 18-metre-high stage tower, added by architect Frans Dingemans in 1955. To prevent the massive tower from detonating too much, it was built of the same natural stone, as the church. The interior was also refurbished between 1955 and 1959, and the famous Charles Eyck painted the ceiling.
The comparison between the Lethes Theatre in Faro and the Bonbonniè in Maastricht shows several similarities: both were Jesuit churches and converted into classics in the theatre world, with the common feature that they have acquired a 'new' and 'bigger' competitor.
Photos: OASRAlgarve, Will Köhen, participating architectural firms & blog restos de colecção
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