Teatre Tívoli is a large theatre where during the years numerous operas, concerts and Catalan plays took place.  Today you still can come and see nice plays and movies there.

In 1849 the Jardins del Tívoli (the gardens of Tívoli) were opened in an, at that time, untilled zone at the border of the city walls of Barcelona, right in between the Passeig de Gràcia and the Carrers de la Disputació, Provença and Aribau. In these gardens and the corresponding wooden pavilion were diverse concerts, fairs and dance parties being organized during the summer. A few decades later people also started to perform Catalan plays there.

The theatre came into the hands of Ignasi Elies in 1862. He decided to move it from the original spot to a location on the present crossing of the Passeig de Gràcia with the Carrer de Mallorca. It stayed a kind of summer theatre where in the wooden pavilion comedies, operas and music performances were being organized. In a short period of time it became one of the most popular venues of Barcelona.

Around 1873 the quality of the offered performances were getting poorer and there was spoken about a possible closing down of the theatre. After a while it was indeed closed down. But immediately after that there was established a new building on the corner of the Passeig de Gràcia and Carrer de Casp. This is the location where Teatre Tívoli is still established.

The new theatre was inaugurated in 1875. From this moment on there were particular diverse and high-quality performances being organized. When Ignasi Elies died in 1902, Teatre Tívoli was a renowned theatre. In the following years there were also circus performances and dance parties being organized.

In 1917 the venture Tívoli S.A. took over the theatre and decided to establish a new building. In January 1908 the build began according the project of Miguel Modorell i Rius, that was based on the former plan of Josep Plantada i Artigues. The chosen style was neo-rococo, with a lot of gold colored trims and plant motives, and ruby red seats and curtains.

The new theatre provided seats to 1643 persons, divided between the ground floor, the club (first floor), the amphitheatre (second floor) and the lodges at the sides of the hall. It was the second largest theatre of Barcelona after Gran Teatre del Liceu. The stage was 22 meter broad, 23 meters high and 15 meter deep.

After the Spanish civil war (1936-1939) Tívoli was mainly being used as a movie theatre where occasionally theatre plays were being performed. Since 1950 the hall is in hands of the company Grup Balaña.

In the end of 1982 Teatre Tívoli was re-opened as theatre hall but in 1989 it was at the point to disappear. The complex was offered for sale and the French group Pelège wanted to make a shopping and leisure centre of it. These plans eventually didn’t worked out. Since 1991 Tívoli is again a full-fledged theatre where every now and then a movie is being played.

On Tívoli’s webpage you will find all information about the current program.

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