We are in a new year, it is necessary to react and bury that feeling of pessimism of many with which it was closed last year. He The new year begins with mass vaccinations against covid-19 in Spain and in the world and that produces some relief, as if we closed one stage and opened another. And actually we do it because it is already 2021. With all the precautions with the coronavirus, the responsibility with this situation, and taking into account that health comes first, we must have another more positive attitude with this new premiere.
And this article also includes a premiere, actually more than two, although one of them was more important than the others for Alicante and the people of Alicante. The aim was to solve a need that had to do with leisure, with recreation, with that need to be distracted and have fun, after work activity and whoever had family concerns. It was time to have a good time and that’s what it was all about. In Alicante there was always and there is a lot of love for the performing arts. I suppose you have already guessed that I am referring to the premiere of the Teatro Principal in Alicante, among others, that the latter produced so much interest in the hands of the former. You’ll see.
But before I tell you about this event, let me tell you where theater was done in the city of Alicante before having that great coliseum of interpretation.
In the past, representations of all kinds were made in public squares or in churches. Viravens tells us in his “Chronicle of the Very Illustrious and Always Faithful city of Alicante. – Alicante 1876 ”that the first known theatrical performance occurred in 1662, no less. It was to celebrate the Brief of Alexander VII on the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. Viravens tells us that “There was a sacramental car that was represented in the square of the Nuns of the Blood”. In turn, J. Pérez Aznar cites in his book “Alicante in the past centuries” (1893) that in 1692, on the occasion of the Corpus Christi festival, the “Misteri del Sacrifisi de Isaac ”and“ La venguda de Christo Redentor nostre ”. In turn, and according to the historian Vicente Ramos, “the first theater itself – called Casa de Comedias – was built in 1606, installed in a house next to the Hospital de San Juan Bautista on Calle San Nicolás”, dependent on this Hospital , who was in charge of seeking resources to support this charitable establishment. In addition to comedies, operas were also performed. Despite being the only theater in the city and raising funds with its performances to support the mentioned Hospital, there were several bishops who asked the competent authority to close it for representing “pernicious” works and because the representations bothered the patients admitted to said health facility. This was done by the Bishop of Orihuela Salvador Rodríguez de Castiblanc (1719) and the prelate José Tormo Juliá (1777). Who said that about the church we have come across? ” None other than Cervantes through Don Quixote. Let’s keep going. To these suspensions the City Council was added in 1748 so that the parishioners were focused on praying to the saints to free themselves from earthquakes and “other calamities that are currently suffered, and being dissonant with comedies and other public entertainment , they agreed that for now the permission that is requested for these representations will not be requested ”. You see, the City Council also intervened to finalize this theatrical establishment. At that moment the one they ran into was a godly official. Finally, it became dependent on the City Council for “common use as long as there was no proportion for the expansion of infirmaries” (1778).
After the War of Independence, various theatrical performances (1814) took place in a warehouse on Calle Toneleros (later Jorge Juan). But it was not adequate, so in 1815 – according to Viravens – the City Council authorized José Sirvent to build a theater, located – according to Vicente Ramos – on Liorna street.
There was still a lack of places for comedies and other entertainments, so the Alicante Artistic and Literary Lyceum was created, with the Baron of Finestrat being its President. “It was the first leisure and teaching center established in Alicante, where it was so much desired, because until then it lacked a place where both elegant society and writers and artists could meet”, in the words of Vicente Ramos. It was inaugurated on August 8, 1839, on Calle San Pascual No. 1, later moving to Calle Argensola, No. 19 due to lack of space. In this second location, a theater was installed in one of its rooms and it was inaugurated on April 19, 1843 with the comedy “García de Castañar” by Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla, and directed by Vicente Portes. It had days of resounding success, and others much less, perhaps because of the latter this theater closed its doors in April 1849. There was no way to consolidate a comedy house in the city, you see.
In what appeared on the scene, never better said, a patron of the performing arts – Tomás Sevilla is his name – who turned his house into a theater when the occasion required it: the stage was put in the main hall, the actors’ dressing rooms were the bedrooms, the dining room was used for the troupes, and for the public, “guests in frock coats and women in mantilla”, on chairs in the first row, and the “people” placed it on the stairs and in the hallway that led to the second floor. Can you imagine this gibberish in your own home? The artists and fans of that patron already had to be grateful.
At that time the city was becoming very important due to its thriving port as reception and transit of goods around the world, the traffic of merchants of different nationalities who settled in this coastal city to do business, the exploitation of the vine and the proliferation of wine cellars, made the city grow. In those circumstances, a real theater was necessary and this was claimed by Nicasio Camilo Jover in one of his chronicles when he stated that “Alicante, which had acquired great importance in the course of a few years, lacked a theater worthy of its cultured population, because the one that existed in the street of Liorna was insufficient and of very poor appearance ”.
It was a popular clamor and for the wealthier classes to have that theater. It took someone to take the initiative and this was the case with a group of merchants. Meeting on September 23, 1845 for a commercial matter, they also discussed this issue and decided to create a construction company to build a theater. According to the historian Vicente Ramos, these were Tomás España, Antonio Campos Domenech, Antonio Seréix, Lorenzo Berduco, Pedro García, Vicente Alcaraz, Vicente Palacio, Juan Seriñá, José Bas, José Puigserver, Francisco Santo, José Ponsell, Lorenzo Llorca (representing the Sociedad Viuda de Berruti), Fernando Sala, Pascual Vasallo, Gaspar White, Felipe Athy, Miguel Guillén, and Mariano Oriente. They took it seriously, it was not one more initiative that fell on deaf ears, so on October 10, 1845, they signed the Founding Deed of said Construction Society before the Notary of Alicante, José Cirer y Palau. To them were added as owners, when the theater was inaugurated – by purchase of shares or by inheritance -, Mrs. Viuda de Soler, Joaquín Llorca, Calixto Pérez, Pedro Brugada, Joaquín Aracil. Mr. Count of Casas Rojas, Mr. Count of Santa Clara, and Manuel Elizaicín. Once the Company was legalized, Tomás España was appointed Chairman-Director. One of his first initiatives was to request the collaboration of the Alicante City Council to start this project. Its Mayor Miguel Pascual de Bonanza was enthusiastic about the idea. In plenary session on October 18, 1845, it was decided to assign to this company the necessary land of the so-called Plaza del Barranquet for eight thousand reals of fleece.
The foundations of such an endeavor had already been laid, it only remained to be carried out and not fail in the attempt. And so they continued with their intentions. On December 4, 1845, the Theater Board approved the plans presented by the Alicante architect Emilio Jover. For the works, in addition to what was stated by the partners, a loan from the Banco Español de San Fernando was needed, which was agreed at 6% in the first game and at 8% in the second. The total cost of the theater was 960,000 reals of fleece.
The day arrived to inaugurate the New theater, which was later called Principal. It was on September 25, 1847. It was a great social event. Never before was there so much unanimity from the people of Alicante to undertake a great work like this. The author chosen for the opening was Antonio Gil y Zárate and the work was the historical drama “Guzmán el bueno”, in four acts and in verse. For the actors, the businessman José Tormo hired Enrique Arjona’s Dramatic Company, which had actors such as Romagosa, Soriano, Sain, Inés Cantos, Rosa Llorens, on its payroll, … The premiere had an entrance of 1,159 people, 500 subscribers and 150 children. A complete total. There were other representations, in addition to the first, to celebrate this inauguration. For each performance, the Arjona Company collected 639 reals of fleece. It was the beginning of a theater and a love of the performing arts that still persists in Alicante.
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