In the month of April 2002the Comedy Theater was closed to the public to undergo an extensive renovation that is nearing completion. GRANDA has been the company in charge of carrying out the restoration both of the curtain of the theater as of the painting on canvas of the vault..
The backdrop that closes the stage is believed to be a design by painter José Vallejo. Represents the Temple of Immortality and it features established poets, actors and playwrights such as Calderón, Cervantes, Moratín, Julián Romea and the Duque de Rivas, among others.
After months of intense work, GRANDA's restoration team is about to finish the restoration that has been carried out. The curtain was very deteriorated due to the aging of the fibers and deformations as well as wear and tear. The curtain had tears, unraveled seams, damp stains, and stains of humidity.. In addition, the pictorial layer showed generalized wear and loss over the entire surface.
The intervention The work consisted of the elimination of previous interventions; the recovery of the plane and the elimination of the deformations of the fabric; the joining of tears and ruptures of the fabric; the realization of textile grafts and the strengthening of the support by means of a re-draping, as well as cleaning and chromatic reintegration.
The Comedy Theater was built in 1874 in a lot on Príncipe Street, in a neighborhood with a great theatrical tradition and in a lot owned by Mr. Silverio López de Larrainza. The Architect Agustín Ortiz de VillajosThe architect of the Buen Suceso church and the Princesa (today María Guerrero) and the old Teatro Circo Price theaters, was in charge of its construction.
It was inaugurated on September 18, 1875, with the presence of the King Alfonso XII. In April 1915 declared a fire which destroyed the interior of the theater, collapsing the roof over the stalls. The theater was rebuilt in just a few months by the architect Luis Bellido and reopened in December of the same year.
La Comedia has experienced some of our best premieres in the last few years classics of the Golden Age and authors such as Benavente, Galdós, Dicenta, the Álvarez-Quintero brothers and Moratín.
For a century, the theater belonged to the Escudero family until it was sold to the State in 1998.
