The Alhambra and the Generalife

The Generalife Theatre

The Festival of Music and Dance of Granada in 1952 prompted the building of a theatre in the historical-artistic monuments complex.

It was decided to extend the Generalife Gardens southward in order to build a large, outdoor theatre, which was inaugurated in 1954 as a ballet centre.

Although the theatre and the adjacent gardens pertain to the same project and building operation, they refer to different historical modes:

• The gardens, rectangular and centred on the coming together of two irrigation channel ponds, were designed to reflect “the ambience and character of classical Riad,” according to the architect and Alhambra curator Francisco Prieto-Moreno.
• The theatre, symmetrically horseshoe shaped, with a central seating area and boxes on the sides, reflects a western mannerist and baroque style.

In the 1960s and 1970s, renovations were undertaken to adapt the theatre to the increasingly more intense and demanding requirements of both the Festival and its audiences, without, though, actually reaching expectations.

In the mid-1980s, coinciding with the elaboration of special plan for the Alhambra, the obvious deficiencies of the theatre and its questionable configuration were taken into consideration. The plan covered the initiation of “construction work leading to the modernization of the open air auditorium of the Generalife,” the use of which was to be broader, and more innovative, in ways that were not, however, specified.

Since the 1990s the theatre has been used, though without the necessary improvements needed for the increasingly more complex productions being staged, for which the installations prove to be inadequate.

Recently the theatre has undergone a process of restoration, and its installations brought up to date to meet production requirements, and the acoustics have also been improved.

Audiences have benefited as a result. At present, improved visibility and sound quality have sparked an increase in public attendance.